Man, 83, swindled out of $126K by a heartless ‘NBN’ scammer in Manly Vale
A clever conman pretending to work for the NBN has managed to steal $126,000 for a trusting 83-year-old northern beaches man.
Manly
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An elderly man on the northern beaches was ripped off for $126,000 by a scammer pretending to be from the NBN (National Broadband Network).
The 83-year-old man was conned into downing a mobile phone app this week that allowed the swindler steal from his two bank accounts.
On Tuesday the man, from Manly Vale, answered a telephone call from a man who told the householder that he needed to immediately connect his home to the NBN.
The scammer made a follow up phone call on Tuesday and told his victim that he needed to pay a fee of $5 to assist with the connection and that the money needed to be transferred from his bank account.
Northern Beaches Police said the “NBN” representative then managed to convince the elderly man into downloading an app called “quicksupport”.
The conman also convinced his victim to stay on the line for four hours while the connection was made.
“The victim accessed his two bank accounts during this time,” a police spokesman said.
“The following day the victim noticed that several large amounts of money had been
withdrawn from his accounts”.
Last year the Manly Daily reported that fraudsters were preying on residents living in the northern beaches by impersonating NBN staff.
The swindlers were phoning householders and offering to check their computers for “interference” prior to the NBN being installed in an effort to get their hands on their personal information.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the con artists also offered to connect the households to the NBN at reduced costs and then demand payment be made through iTunes gift cards.
They also tried to gain remote access to personal computers by calling a victim with claims there are issues with their computer prior to the NBN being connected. The criminals were then able to steal personal information or demand payment to fix “problems” they had discovered.
An ACCC Scamwatch spokesman said NBN never called householders to remotely fix a problem with a computer, or to request personal information such as bank account numbers.
“You can only connect to the NBN network by purchasing a plan through a phone and internet service provider,” the spokesman said.
ADVICE FROM SCAMWATCH:
If you have doubts about the identity of any caller who claims to represent a business, organisation or government department, contact the body directly. Don’t rely on contact details provided by the person — find them through an independent source such as a phone book or online search.
Scammers use detailed scripts to convince you that they’re the real deal and create a high-pressure situation to make a decision on the spot.
Never give your personal, credit card or online account details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source.
Never give a stranger remote access to your computer, even if they claim to be from a reputable business.
If you think your computer’s security has been compromised, use your security software to run a virus check. If you still have doubts, contact your antivirus software provider or a computer specialist.
If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.
If you have lost money as a result of this type of scam, please report the matter to your local Police Station.
Report scams to the ACCC via SCAMWATCH or report a scam page or by calling 1300 795 995.