Latest news with #VanessaKruger
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.'
The Age
2 days ago
- Business
- The Age
WA news LIVE: Grandmother saved from losing life savings in ‘blood boiling' scam
Latest posts Latest posts 9.31am Grandmother saved from losing life savings in 'blood boiling' scam A bank branch manager who saved an elderly woman from being fleeced of her life savings has described the scammer as 'the biggest lowlife on the planet'. 9 News Perth revealed that an 84-year-old grandmother made an unusual request about her internet banking limit – it wa set at $5000 and she was asking to increase it to over $50,000. It raised an immediate red flag, but then staff noticed the woman was holding and notebook and her phone, and someone else was listening in. It was revealed the notebook had a list of cues a scammer had told the woman to write down to convince the bank to change the limit. When they searched for the phone number, it immediately showed it was likely a scammer. The person on the other end of the line had been pressuring the recently widowed woman for days. NAB East Maitland branch manager Vanessa Kruger, who spotted the issue, said the scammer had remotely accessed the woman's account and had convinced her they had given her $50,000, which she now owed. 'They're the biggest lowlife on the planet. They prey on people who are vulnerable and they do whatever they can to trick them into handing over their money,' she said. 'They use whatever means and it actually makes my blood boil to be honest.' ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said a remote access scam started with a call out of the blue, telling you there is something wrong with one of your accounts and will ask you to download software that will allow them to take over. Lowe warned the community not to listen. 9.31am Across the nation and around the world Here's what's making headlines today: Median house prices in Australian capital cities have seen a dramatic change over the past decade, moving from an affordable price point to a millionaires' row. Hundreds of US Marines arrived in Los Angeles ahead of a fifth day of protests over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, as officials said the cost of the extraordinary military deployment would top $US134 million ($206 million). T he ABC is set to axe its long-running current affairs show Q+A after more than 500 episodes and 17 seasons. A former pupil killed 10 people and himself at a high school in the southern Austrian city of Graz in the worst school shooting in Austria's modern history. Australia has imposed Magnitsky-style sanctions on two senior Israeli ministers for their roles in serious human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank, in a move that marks a significant escalation in Canberra's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Anthony Albanese had a chance on Tuesday to expand the scope of his second-term agenda, following his thumping election win on May 3, and lay out a more ambitious reform plan. It was a chance he very deliberately chose not to take.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
WA news LIVE: Grandmother saved from losing life savings in ‘blood boiling' scam
Latest posts Latest posts 9.31am Grandmother saved from losing life savings in 'blood boiling' scam A bank branch manager who saved an elderly woman from being fleeced of her life savings has described the scammer as 'the biggest lowlife on the planet'. 9 News Perth revealed that an 84-year-old grandmother made an unusual request about her internet banking limit – it wa set at $5000 and she was asking to increase it to over $50,000. It raised an immediate red flag, but then staff noticed the woman was holding and notebook and her phone, and someone else was listening in. It was revealed the notebook had a list of cues a scammer had told the woman to write down to convince the bank to change the limit. When they searched for the phone number, it immediately showed it was likely a scammer. The person on the other end of the line had been pressuring the recently widowed woman for days. NAB East Maitland branch manager Vanessa Kruger, who spotted the issue, said the scammer had remotely accessed the woman's account and had convinced her they had given her $50,000, which she now owed. 'They're the biggest lowlife on the planet. They prey on people who are vulnerable and they do whatever they can to trick them into handing over their money,' she said. 'They use whatever means and it actually makes my blood boil to be honest.' ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said a remote access scam started with a call out of the blue, telling you there is something wrong with one of your accounts and will ask you to download software that will allow them to take over. Lowe warned the community not to listen. 9.31am Across the nation and around the world Here's what's making headlines today: Median house prices in Australian capital cities have seen a dramatic change over the past decade, moving from an affordable price point to a millionaires' row. Hundreds of US Marines arrived in Los Angeles ahead of a fifth day of protests over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, as officials said the cost of the extraordinary military deployment would top $US134 million ($206 million). T he ABC is set to axe its long-running current affairs show Q+A after more than 500 episodes and 17 seasons. A former pupil killed 10 people and himself at a high school in the southern Austrian city of Graz in the worst school shooting in Austria's modern history. Australia has imposed Magnitsky-style sanctions on two senior Israeli ministers for their roles in serious human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank, in a move that marks a significant escalation in Canberra's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Anthony Albanese had a chance on Tuesday to expand the scope of his second-term agenda, following his thumping election win on May 3, and lay out a more ambitious reform plan. It was a chance he very deliberately chose not to take.
