Suncorp ‘spoofing’ scam cons couple expecting triplets out of $50,000
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A couple expecting triplets who were frantically saving to support their three children have been swindled out of $50,000 after falling victim to an elaborate scam.
Canberra couple Jasmine Bourchier and Daniel Josifovski had their life savings stolen after a person claiming to be from Suncorp called them and warned them their account had been compromised.
The couple revealed that the scammer had called them from the same number as their bank and that they had no reason to believe they were being scammed.
They were told their account had been hacked and they needed to move their funds immediately to another ‘safe’ account.
Canberra couple Jasmine Bourchier and Daniel Josifovski had their life savings robbed after receiving a call from a person claiming to be from Suncorp.
The couple revealed that the scammer had been calling from the same number as the bank and that they had no reason to believe they were being scammed (file image)
“The day we found out the funds were gone was the day we were supposed to celebrate the milestone of getting past the first trimester of my triplet pregnancy,” Ms Bourchier told the mail.
“We are going to be new parents and before this happened, we weren’t sure if we could financially support three children at a time.”
Ms Bourcheir said she was upset by Suncorp’s response, claiming it took at least two weeks for the bank to take her complaint seriously.
She said the bank told her there was a nine in 10 chance she would never see her money again.
The money had been transferred to a Commonwealth Bank account and the couple claimed that the CBA was equally useless and referred them to Suncorp.
A Suncorp spokeswoman said the bank was “aware” of fraudsters contacting its customers.
“As soon as we became aware of this, we notified all Suncorp Bank customers through our app, internet banking, social media and website about this particular scam, and to be alert if they receive these types of messages from text or phone calls,” he said. he said.
“We also contracted with the phone service provider and the Australian Communications and Media Authority to disconnect the numbers used by these scammers.”
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.
The spokeswoman said the bank knew the scam had “affected some Suncorp bank customers.”
“Scams are a social problem, which can have a significant financial and emotional cost to victims,” he said.
We feel sorry for everyone affected by scams and are doing everything we can to protect our customers. Our best defense against scammers is education and awareness.
‘Suncorp Bank will never ask a customer to share their passwords, including one-time passwords and PINs.
Any unsolicited contact requesting personal information, access to online banking, or taking an action, such as sending money to another bank, should be ignored.’
Ms. Bourchier and Mr. Josifovski are the latest couple to fall victim to Suncorp’s elaborate “phishing” scam.
Phishing is when the scammer uses what appears to be the correct landline and mobile phone numbers for a reputable company.
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.
One of the text messages the couple received with the number that appears to be the same one used by Suncorp.
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.
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.
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.
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 Jorgensens immediately called Suncorp and were informed by an employee that they had just fallen victim to an elaborate scam.
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.