Sydney IT manager Maher Helwe’s $80k stolen identity nightmare
NINE months after IT project manager Maher Helwe had his identity hacked and was robbed of more than $80,000 he is still trying to put his life back together. Here is how hackers stole thousands of his hard-earned cash.
NSW
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EXCLUSIVE: NINE months after IT project manager Maher Helwe had his identity hacked and was robbed of more than $80,000 he is still trying to put his life back together.
“It was harrowing,” said Mr Helwe. “I don’t think people realise how vulnerable they are to a simple cyber-attack.”
Thieves stole bank cards delivered to his mailbox at his home in Georges Hall and then called Telstra with the information to transfer his mobile number to Optus.
“Once they had my number it was the key they used to hack into everything, my bank account, eBay Account, PayPal, everything,” he said.
It took two days of frantic calls by Mr Helwe and his colleague, University of NSW principal security adviser Sorin Toma, to freeze his accounts. By then $80,000 had been looted from his account.
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Just weeks ago they went on a $13,000 spending spree on his store card set, which had been recalibrated with a fake ID.
And Mr Helwe is not alone. The latest report from the Australian Information Commissioner reveals there have been 305 reportable data breaches since new data laws came into effect in February.
Almost half of the breaches affected more than 100 people with 23 hitting between 1000 and 5000 people. Nine out of 10 of the hacks targeted contact information and almost half sought financial details.
Mr Toma said new technology such as Amazon’s Alexa smart speaker technology was making people even more vulnerable to be being hacked.
“With companies like Amazon developing new ways to obtain data and setting up ‘profiles’ on consumers using smart technology, like their Alexa unit, there has never been a more critical time for the Government to monitor and protect consumers from cybercrime,” he said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison did not replace Angus Taylor as junior minister for Law Enforcement and Cyber Security when he moved him to Energy in the reshuffle that followed his sudden move to the top job.
“It’s hard to understand why the new Prime Minister has removed cybercrime as a headline ministerial responsibility,” said Mr Toma.
“Given the push by companies like Amazon to gather data on consumers through smart speaker technology, like Alexa, there is real concern that the Government is taking its eye off the ball on protecting people from cyber security,” he said.
“Reported data breaches are just the tip of the cybercrime iceberg, with criminals now calling people claiming to be from a major business like a bank or software company, telling them their computer has a virus and prompting them into actions that reveal passwords and personal information.”
A Telstra spokeswoman said: “We are committed to protecting our customers’ privacy and keeping their personal information safe and secure. We are continually reviewing our processes to ensure that we are doing all that we can to protect our customers from this type of fraudulent activity.’
“In order for a fraudster to initiate the porting process for a mobile number they need to have obtained several key pieces of account and personal information. Fraudsters can gain this information through a variety of means, including via information people share on social media, or accessing email accounts or physical mail. We have provided some tips below to help customers protect their personal information.”
“If a customer is a victim of fraudulent porting or identity fraud we ask that they contact their service provider as soon as possible to help resolve their issue.”