Phone scam alert: How fraud syndicates are robbing Aussies of millions of dollars
Australians are being scammed of hundreds of millions of dollars by phone fraudsters claiming to be representatives of major organisations.
Elaborate fraud syndicates have been calling Aussies in an attempt to gain access to their finances.
In an interview with A Current Affair, Damian Cromwell said he received a call from someone who claimed to be from Telstra’s anti-fraud taskforce.
As they knew his details and the fact that he was a Telstra customer, Damian listened to them.
“They said they’re running a sting operation to get these scammers,” he said.
However, the person he was speaking to was connected to multiple other people on the phone who persuaded him to buy $2000-worth of gift cards in the hope of catching the scammers.
After the purchase was made, the imposter hung up immediately.
“That’s when I started to panic. I thought, ‘Gee, I’ve been done,’,” he said.
“I’m just a average guy. I’m not Forrest Gump – it can happen to anybody.”
Lorraine Saunders, 71, also received a call from a Telstra imposter and lost almost $10,000.
Lorraine received a call from someone claiming to be from the company to organise a new modem for her home.
Shortly after the phone call, her bank account had been drained.
“I thought it was true,” she said.
“I had savings there for my grandkids, who lost their father three years ago. It was all the savings I had.”
Sam Jenkins from Consumer Affairs Victoria said that although most victims ask for call-back numbers, syndicates have become smarter and now use multiple people.
“The scammers will say, ‘Yes there is a number’, and they’ll have one of their fellow scammers ready to take that call in just a few minutes’ time when the unsuspecting member of the community calls them,” he said.
“Major corporations and certainly government entities will never contact members of the community … and ask for money.”
Aussies are also being bombarded with calls from scammers pretending to be investigation officers with the ATO.
Speaking to ACA, Myrene Chambers said she received a call from a fraudster who threatened to call the Australian Federal Police if she didn’t back pay the ATO money.
“There’s a lot of people out there who are getting sucked into it,” she said.
“I was really scared. I actually thought it might’ve been the case. I started going through my head thinking, ‘What have I done? How could I have committed fraud?’”
Last year alone, Aussies lost $340 million to elaborate scams, which are becoming increasingly harder to detect.