Scammers posing as Telstra staff steal $12k from single mum – صحيفة الصوت

Rachael, who does not want her surname revealed, has been left devastated by the scam in May, in which her bank accounts were hacked without her handing over any financial details.

On top of dealing with with the huge hit to her savings account, the head-teacher at a Victorian school feels emotionally abused, doesn’t know who to trust, and is ashamed by what she fell victim to.

“I am a single mum, supporting two kids. I work hard,” she said.

“I felt so dumb and stupid after this event, still do.

“I was already in a vulnerable position and this eats at me.”

Rachael was exploited by a man who called her on the morning of May 4, falsely claiming to be a Telstra technician.

She had been waiting for a call from the telecommunications company, having requested Telstra’s help with an NBN issue since she moved house weeks earlier.

Rachael complained the company had taken so long to get back to her, to which the scammer said he was transferring her onto a senior technician.

She was then put on the phone to a man calling himself Steve Williams, who convinced her that the IP address of her computer had been compromised, causing her data to be breached.

He had her search up a map online that supposedly showed her IP as registering her location in the US, instead of her hometown in Victoria.

Rachael said when she was hesitant about allowing him to access her computer, “Steve Williams” assured her of his supposed legitimacy by giving her a Melbourne landline phone number, an ID number and a Melbourne work address.

He further had her search his name online, with Google producing a webpage confirming there was a Telstra technician with his name.

The crook told her it was normal for her to feel nervous and fearful and the he was only trying to help.

“I was extremely hesitant, and he reassured me saying it was extremely important as there was a data breach taking place at the time,” she said.

“He used fear to manipulate.”

He then had her download an app that allowed him access to her computer.

The man then told her it would take several hours to secure her IP, and that she should not use her phone or internet to speed up the process, and that she should delete all spam from her email account.

Over the following hours, he sent several spam texts, claiming they were from hackers, but telling her to respond “yes” to them.

He then supposedly showed her than her IP address had been safely moved from the US back to her hometown.

The scammer got Rachael’s home address by telling her a technician would come out, providing a man’s name, badge number, employer ID and work address and a date and time for the appointment.

She believes he tried to get further personal information from her by making small talk, questioning her about “her husband” and saying she sounded too young to have teenage children.

He then said he was aware someone had hacked two of her bank accounts, asking her to transfer her money into one account.

“I argued with him, saying I felt extremely nervous doing this,” Rachael said.

She transferred her money to a different account than to what he asked for.

He then had her change the PIN codes for her bank cards.

Rachael’s suspicions about the legitimacy of the call suddenly became too high and she hung up on the man and immediately checked her bank accounts.

Three transfers to other banks and two cash withdrawals had been made, totalling $12,000.

She removed the app that allowed him access to her computer, then received a call from someone claiming to be calling from Telstra.

Rachael complained money had been taken from her account and the person said the previous employee should not have accessed her screen.

She then hung up and ignored 10 phone calls, before receiving a voicemail message from a man claiming to be from Westpac’s fraud department.

She was on hold to Westpac at the time and had not yet told them what had happened.

Rachael has had several calls since from people pretending to be from Telstra.

“As soon as I say, ‘Are you serious?’, they hang up immediately,” she said.

Rachael wants people to know that she was dubious, but that the scammer was incredibly manipulating.

“I know people will probably say, ‘How stupid to share your screen’, but they are conniving and deceptive and manipulate the conversation minute-by-minute to try to convince you that they are working in your best interest,” she said.

“It was just so contrived and evil.

“I’ve lost a chunk of savings and my pride is wounded for being sucked in.”

Rachael was unable to retrieve any money at the time of the attack.

After being contacted about Rachael’s story, Westpac agreed to refund the sum lost as a result of the scam.

A Westpac spokesperson has said the bank encourages all Australians to be vigilant against scams.

“Westpac invests heavily in scam prevention and has robust processes in place to alert and protect customers.

“We work hard to recover money for customers where possible.

“We encourage customers to be cautious of remote access scams – where scammers convince people to give them access to their mobile or computer, sometimes posing as telcos or technology software companies.

“In many cases, the scammers ask people to download an app or click on a link in a text message.

“If in doubt, ask for a reference number, and call them back on a publicly listed number to confirm if the call was genuine. Customers should never give anyone remote control of their mobile or computer.

“If a customer is concerned, we have a specialist team of staff trained to assist customers impacted by scams. Customers can contact Westpac on 132 032 to seek assistance or report suspicious activity.”

A Telstra spokesperson urged customers to ignore callers that seem suspicious and instead contact the company using its official phone number and app.

“We know that scammers sometimes try to impersonate Telstra.

“If it doesn’t sound or feel like Telstra, hang up or delete the email and contact us on our official number or via the official Telstra App.”