A couple who lost nearly $50,000 to scammers after buying their first home have criticised their bank for only compensating them with $500.
Jessica Greentree, 25, and Will Clinton, 27, have saved for years to afford their dream home in Camden, in Sydney’s south-west.
The couple unknowingly saw their settlement money drain away after scammers tricked them into transferring $48,925.
The pair had received an email that appeared to be from their lawyer, asking them to transfer the money to a NAB account.
There was nothing suspicious about the request because they had spoken to their lawyer the day before and he had said he would need the money soon.
By the time their bank, Macquarie Bank, confirmed they had been scammed, the couple’s money was nowhere to be found.
The bank initially refused to reimburse the couple, claiming Clinton had “authorized” the transaction.
Ms Greentree and her partner did not give up and took the matter to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
Jessica Greentree, 25, and Will Clinton, 27, were scammed out of $48,925 by criminals posing as their attorneys in the run-up to purchasing their first home
The couple was then offered a goodwill settlement of just $500 by their bank.
“We thought that was disgusting,” Clinton said. The project.
Fortunately, their real lawyer and the buyer made a deal, and he lowered the down payment from 10 percent to 5 percent, so they didn’t lose the house.
Now the couple are forced to rent out the property so they can pay the mortgage and recoup the money they lost.
Clinton, who works as a cartoonist, said the loss of the money was “absolutely devastating” when so much effort had been put into saving it in the first place.
“Jess and I both had full-time jobs,” he said.
‘I ran my own business to make some extra money [and] Jess also started selling firewood.
When Clinton discovered they had been scammed, he called Mrs. Greenwood, an occupational therapist, while she was at work to tell her what had happened.
‘I just started crying… A year and a half of savings was gone in an instant. [It was] “Probably the worst day of our lives,” she said.
Clinton said he had no reason to believe the fake email was a scam because all the information was correct and it bore his attorney’s letterhead.
He now claims it is “incredibly frustrating” to seek help from anyone because no one wants to take the blame.
Mrs. Greentree and Mr. Clinton indicated that they are also busy planning their upcoming wedding.
Experts warn that this type of cybercrime is becoming increasingly sophisticated and so easy for scammers to carry out that it is like ‘shooting fish in a barrel’
There are more than 150,000 active ‘mule’ bank accounts in Australia and experts warn that scammers’ methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Mule accounts are run by criminals who scam people into depositing money into their accounts, which are then immediately transferred abroad.
Cybersecurity expert Gabor Szathmari said that ‘The ruthless professionalization of cybercrime is being amplified by AI and more and more criminals are joining in.
“Unfortunately, crime pays, and technology allows criminals to carry out large-scale fraud over the internet,” he said. told Domain.
‘For example, phishing emails can be sent in large quantities and robocalls can be made without human interaction.’
Australian banks are not required to verify or confirm the beneficiary name on bank transfers, despite the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recommending this be done by 2022.