Kylie Lang: If you think you’re too smart to be scammed, don’t be so cocky

If you think you’re too smart to be scammed, don’t be so cocky. All it took was one text ‘from my bank’ to get sucked in, writes Kylie Lang.

Scammers are becoming more sophisticated, as Kylie Lang found out this week.

If you think you’re too smart to be scammed, don’t be so cocky.

These scumbags are increasingly sophisticated, using exact terminology taken off legitimate banking websites and even warning you to be careful of scams like those listed on the government’s Scamwatch website.

They’re disgracefully skilled at disarming you.

I got sucked in this week.

And the strange thing was that even when I suspected the guy with a thick foreign accent was not on the level, I kept the conversation going.

Why? Because he was so slick and had an answer for every question I asked. And I asked a lot.

What’s more, his initial text telling me “an external transfer had been placed on hold” and to call an (03) number came through on a text stream from my bank.

The scammer had somehow hacked into a genuine text to me from NAB back in July.

When I phoned, he told me someone in New Zealand had accessed my account and my money was not safe.

The scammer used what appeared to be a legitimate text from a bank.

Many times during the conversation I asked him how he could reassure me he wasn’t a scammer himself, but his lines were well rehearsed.

He kept repeating his spiel, as if I were a slow learner.

At one point, I think I even thanked him for his patience.

Were I to end the call without doing as “the bank” required, he said “the bank” would not be liable for any future fraudulent activity.

I could lose the lot.

Old mate then proceeded to set up a new account, and I received a text with the BSB and account number.

I would need to migrate funds from all my accounts, including a home loan and an offset, into this one.

Then he said I should start by transferring $5000 and I said no, although I did send across $50, thinking that if it was a scam, then $50 was not much to lose.

Writing this now, I feel like a complete moron.

I thought I was scam-wise – there’s a new term we can unhappily add to the vernacular – having dealt with fake buyers on Facebook marketplace and texters pretending to be my son whose phone has fallen down the toilet.

However, I am now part of an unfortunate club whose membership is growing.

The latest report by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) paints a disturbing picture, saying our country is facing “the most complex and challenging strategic environment” since World War II.

“While advancements in critical and emerging technologies offer significant social and economic benefits, they also improve the capabilities of malicious cyber actors who continue to target Australia’s networks,” it says.

Aussies are increasingly being targeted by scammers.

Calls to the ACSC in the 2023-24 financial year were up 12 per cent on the previous year.

The most common cybercrimes affecting individuals involved identity fraud (26 per cent), online shopping fraud (15 per cent) and online banking fraud (12 per cent).

The average cost to a victim of a cybercrime rose 17 per cent to $30,700.

I guess I should count myself lucky.

As we move into 2025, I’d like to think the world will be a better, not worse place.

But longing for the good old days – when you could leave your cars and front doors unlocked – is foolish.

We live in a world that is global and our once semi-protected position as an island continent no longer holds.

Technology has made life easier in many ways but harder in others.

Our default position should be suspicion.

Following my experience, NAB sent an information sheet on how to spot phishing.

A call or text might appear to be from the bank but it won’t address you by your proper name and may contain typing errors or grammatical mistakes.

It may include a website or phone number that looks legitimate but is not.

What to do if you become a target? Don’t click on any links and immediately call your bank’s publicly listed number and report it.

Change your passwords and make sure your computer has up-to-date antivirus software.

It’s a pity we must be so vigilant but the alternative is a much less palatable prospect.

Let’s move into 2025 a bit wiser and not let the bastards win.

LOVE

The stunning test cricket debut of Sam Konstas. The Aussie selectors said they drafted the Sydney teenager so he would “throw something different” at India. The 19 year old did just that, delighting the Boxing Day crowd at the MCG.

LOATHE

The Crisafulli government having to rename seven satellite hospitals because the public don’t get that these places can’t take emergency cases. The AMA long warned against calling them “hospitals” but the former Labor government wouldn’t listen.

Kylie Lang is Associate Editor of The Courier-Mail

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Originally published as Kylie Lang: If you think you’re too smart to be scammed, don’t be so cocky