Latest news with #EastMaitland
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Bank staff stop elderly customer from being fleeced of life savings
Alarm bells rang for bank staff who noticed a 'spineless' scammer instructing an elderly customer what to say to increase her internet banking limit so he could steal her life savings. An 84-year old woman, known as Stella, walked into her NAB branch at East Maitland and 'nervously' asked staff to increase her daily limit from $5000 to $50,000 so she could transfer money to her son. Customer adviser Tiffany Bailey noticed the customer was on the phone to someone and immediately knew something was up. 'The phone line went dead as soon as the caller heard my voice,' she said. 'Alarm bells started ringing for me straight away. I knew from my training and experience that something is not right here.' Ms Bailey googled the phone number and discovered it was linked to a known scam. The elderly customer burst into tears when Ms Bailey told her what was really going on. Stella told staff that a man claiming to be from a major tech company had been threatening her to settle an outstanding debt. 'Stella's adult son was waiting out the front of the branch. He had no idea she was being scammed,' Ms Bailey said. 'The criminal had gained remote access to Stella's computer, generated images to convince her of the debt and coached her what to say to bank staff.' When the man called again, bank manager Vanessa Kruger answered the phone and told the criminal they were on to him. Ms Kruger told the scammer to stop calling Stella and that they would be reporting the incident to police. 'He hung up straight away like a spineless coward,' she said. The staff reassured Stella no money had been taken from her accounts and told her to clean her computer. Scamwatch reported that remote scams were one of the most common in Australia, costing people more than $2m this year. They usually occur when someone calls pretending that you have a phone or internet problem and that you need to buy new software to fix it. NAB Group Investigations executive Chris Sheehan said they were focused on fighting against criminals to help protect customers. 'Recognising scam red flags is crucial. These include a sense of urgency, unexpected contact, being asked to grant someone access to your device and 'needing' to move money to keep it 'safe',' he said. 'If you're unsure, call the organisation the person claims to be from using details you've found yourself. For example, look up the organisation's website or log in to its app. 'Stopping scams is like playing whack-a-mole. That's why Australia's all-of-ecosystem approach to tackling scams is world leading.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
NAB Bank issues urgent warning after woman loses nearly $50,000 in alarming new scam
A quick-thinking bank team saved a widow from losing $50,000 by stepping in just in time to stop a scammer trying to trick her. The 84-year-old widow, who is named as Stella, walked into her local NAB branch in East Maitland, New South Wales, in late February while on the phone. She appeared visibly nervous and asked staff to raise her daily transfer limit from $5,000 to $50,000, claiming she needed to send money to her son. Hunter Valley customer advisor Tiffany Bailey said she immediately became suspicious when the person on the phon hung up as soon as she spoke. 'Alarm bells started ringing for me straight away,' she said on Wednesday, adding that she knew something wasn't right. Ms Bailey searched the phone number and the results suggested it was linked to a known scam. 'That's when we were able to sit down with Stella and ask what was really going on,' she said. 'Stella burst into tears, telling us she was being threatened by a man claiming to be from a major tech company.' 'He'd been pressuring her for days into making a $50,000 transfer to settle an outstanding debt,' Ms Bailey said. The NAB advisor said Stella's adult son, who was waiting at the front of the branch, had no idea she was being scammed. The bank also said the alleged criminal had remote access to the widow's computer and created images that convinced her she owed money to the scammer. Branch manager Vanessa Kruger said the unknown perpetrator had coached Stella on what to say to bank staff. When the unknown man started calling Stella again, Branch manager Vanessa Kruger answered the phone. 'I told him that we were from NAB and we were on to him,' she said. 'I told him to stop calling Stella and leave her alone. We'd also be reporting him to police. 'He hung up straight away like a spineless coward.' No money was taken and NAB put a temporary block on Stella's accounts. The bank's fraud operations team also told Stella her computer should be cleaned. Consumer watchdog ACCC has issued a warning to Australians after the incident to be aware of schemes. 'A remote access scam will begin with a contact out of the blue from someone who sounds pretty professional, telling you that there's something wrong with one of your accounts,' deputy chair Catriona Lowe said. 'They are going to ask you to download software that will enable them to take control of your computer.'
