23-07-2025
Tradie loses $449,000 in an instant after missing key detail: '25 years of savings gone'
An Australian man is searching for answers after he unknowingly transferred 25 years' worth of his savings to a scammer. Mechanic Jimmy wanted to buy a home for his parents and was all set to make this dream come true.
He even visited his Commonwealth Bank (CBA) branch in person to transfer the $449,000 to his conveyancer because he thought that would add a layer of protection against being scammed. However, he didn't realise the details he gave to the bank worker were fraudulent.
"I wanted something that I could sort of call home in my mum's and dad's later years, in our later years, and still be close to the kids," he told A Current Affair.
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Jimmy located this dream home in Lake Illawarra, south of Sydney, and it was set to cost him $1.1 million.
When it came time to make the transfer for the deposit, a scammer had weaselled their way into the back-and-forth emails between the mechanic and Active Property Conveyancing.
This is what's called an impersonation scam, and it cost Aussies $181 million last year alone.
The consumer watchdog said scammers usually target businesses like conveyancers, real estate agencies, and car dealerships because of the big sums of money involved.
Instead of the conveyancer sending over the correct bank details, the hacker hijacked the communications and sent over their bank thought everything was above board when he eventually went into the branch to send nearly half a million dollars.
"[The bank teller] goes, 'Just tell me who you want me to pay'. And I said to her, 'I suppose you better do what the email says'. They've just got the paperwork. They've entered it all in. And we left, and that was it," he recalled.
It took six days after the transfer for Jimmy to discover what had actually happened.
"Our 25 years of life savings gone just like that," he added.
CBA tried to retrieve the huge sum of money, however, it had been siphoned off in smaller chunks to other bank accounts two days after Jimmy's transfer.
Mechanic blames bank, conveyancer - but they point out huge issue
The mechanic is furious at what happened and is pointing the blame at Active Property Conveyancing, as well as CBA for letting him send off the money.
"If your system was compromised and they've stolen my information and sent me an email, how's that my fault?" he said.
Active Property Conveyancing said its systems were secure and the scam emails were sent from a Hotmail address and not one from their domain.
The business also added there was a very specific disclaimer in the email with the fraudulent bank details that he "unfortunately" didn't follow.
"Due to increased reports of emails between clients and conveyancers, we request that you DO NOT act on any communication asking you to transfer or deposit funds without first contacting us by telephone... to confirm the authenticity of the request," the disclaimer read.
CBA said it takes these matters "very seriously" but added that Jimmy was asked seven scam-related questions before the transfer was authorised.
One of those questions was whether he had confirmed the legitimacy of the details of the person he was sending the money to.
Because he missed these key details, insurance won't cover him.
Jimmy tried to take the issue to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, but AFCA ruled in favour of the in to access your portfolio
