Suncorp bank scam: Brisbane couple swindled out of almost $80,000 through ‘spoofing’ technique
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Read the sophisticated text messages scammers sent to swindle the family out of nearly $80,000 just weeks before Christmas as they blast their bank’s ‘desperate’ response
- Elaborate scammers conned a Brisbane family of five out of almost $80,000
- A couple received a call from a number that appeared to be used by a real bank
- Verification texts of the same number were sent to them before being tricked.
A family of five is nearly $80,000 poorer after scammers posing as Suncorp Bank officials tricked them into transferring the small fortune from their account just weeks before Christmas.
Brisbane couple Michael and Rachel Jorgensen had no idea they were about to be scammed out of $78,198 when they received a call from what appeared to be Suncorp’s Brisbane landline number on November 13.
The scammers were running a “phishing” attack using what appears to be the correct landline and mobile phone numbers for a trusted business.
The person, speaking with a British accent, claimed that the couple’s Suncorp account had been compromised and they needed to immediately transfer their money to a new one.
The couple went into panic mode as they had been saving money to pay their mortgage, buy groceries and support their three children, the mail informed.
Ms. Jorgensen was asked a series of security questions over the phone, but she still harbored doubts that the call came from an actual bank teller.
Brisbane couple Michael (pictured) and Rachel Jorgensen had no idea they were being scammed out of $78,198 when they received a call on November 13.
Two-step verification texts were then sent to them from the same number used by Suncorp when they transferred the money to the new account.
The scammer then told her to cross-reference the number she was calling from and Ms Jorgensen traced it to what appeared to be Suncorp’s landline phone in Brisbane.
Two-step verification texts were then sent to them from the same number used by Suncorp when they transferred the money to the new account.
“It took three transactions to empty the account of $78,198,” Jorgensen said.
He then told us to delete the Suncorp banking app and log back in to show the new account, and hung up. The phone went dead.
The Jorgensens immediately called Suncorp and were informed by an employee that they had just fallen victim to an elaborate scam.
Jorgensen said he tried to talk to the bank’s fraud team, but they told him they weren’t in the office on a Sunday and he would have to call back the next day.
The family has been with Suncorp for 12 years, but criticized the financial institution’s response as “desperate.”
Jorgensen called the next morning and spent the next four hours on the phone canceling credit cards and demanding help to recover the money lost in the scam.
One of the text messages the couple received with the number that appears to be the same one used by Suncorp.
Jorgensen described the bank’s response as “desperate” and said Suncorp offered the family $100 so they could buy food for their children.
The fraud team eventually discovered that the money had been transferred to three different Commonwealth Bank accounts and managed to recover $21,000.
A Suncorp spokeswoman said the bank was aware of the elaborate scam and had issued warnings on its app and websites on November 2.
“We also contracted with the phone service provider and the Australian Communications and Media Authority to disconnect the numbers used by these scammers,” he said.
‘In this case, after the customer made authorized payments to another bank, they contacted Suncorp Bank and we initiated a recovery action.
“This resulted in the recovery of a part that would otherwise have been lost.
“The client’s inability to speak directly with a member of the fraud team did not inhibit recovery action.”
Mr Jorgensen described his response as “desperate” and said the bank offered the family $100 so they could buy groceries for their children.
The Suncorp spokeswoman suggested several steps a customer could take to avoid falling victim to a scam.
“Our advice is if a customer gets a request like this, don’t participate in the conversation,” he said.
‘The Suncorp Bank will never ask a customer to share their unique password, login details or other sensitive information via a link.
“We will never ask customers to send money to another bank account, and if a customer receives an unsolicited call and is unsure, hang up immediately and call the publicly listed phone number.”