A Tasmanian man nearly crashed his car when he received a notification from his bank that his transfer limit had been increased to $50,000, something that left him “shocked” that he had not requested it.
But the horror continued for Syed Rizvi, when he pulled his car off the road on December 22 last year and logged into his Commonwealth Bank account, he discovered that $30,000 had been transferred.
The electrical engineer “panicked” and instantly called the bank, but while he was on hold he saw another $9,860 drained from his account—all his savings accumulated over four years gone in a matter of minutes.
The almost $40,000 was transferred to a CoinSpot account, but the two-factor authentication was not activated because I had already made a previous transfer to the cryptocurrency exchange.
The 26-year-old said he then drove directly to the police station to report the crime before finally speaking to a CBA customer service representative an hour and a half later when his account was frozen.
“I ran out of money and just before Christmas. I didn’t even have money to put gas in the car,” she told news.com.au.
“I was planning to go on vacation over the new year but couldn’t because I ran out of money. I had to ask a friend for a loan to put gas in the car and buy some groceries.
“It has been very hard for me, those days were very stressful for me. I called my mother and even she went to the hospital because she was very depressed because she said that you lost all your savings.
“I couldn’t pay my rent too. Now I don’t know… if I will get my money bank”.
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Surprisingly, the CBA fraud team told Mr. Rizvi that someone had called him and impersonated him, providing personal details and increasing his transfer limit from $1000 to $50,000.
“I was very angry when I found out about this. I was very surprised – the bank should have some kind of software to distinguish the voice. They only ask three questions, your full name, date of birth and residential address so that anyone can know these things,” he said.
“I was very surprised that the bank does not have any technology to distinguish who is calling them. My number is registered with Commonwealth Bank, they should have realized that it is very rare for someone to call from a different number and impersonate me.”
He was also told that the payment could not be stopped, leaving him in an “extreme” amount of stress and feeling mentally “tortured.”
But she had no idea how the scammer had obtained her details and “wiped” her savings.
He ran antivirus software on his phone but found nothing.
However, dark web monitoring revealed that his details had been leaked as part of the Medibank hacking scandal, including his passport, bank and email details.
“I informed the bank within 10 minutes of the incident. I went to the police station immediately. I should get the money back, it wasn’t my fault. I couldn’t do anything else,” he said.
“I can’t even imagine not getting my money back. I haven’t done anything wrong, I saved money by working two jobs. All my family will suffer because they depend on me; I’m sending money home.”
He had also planned to use the money to launch his dream of running a food truck business and now he is worried that it will never happen.
Mr. Rizvi added that CoinSpot’s fraud management team had told him that money from four other accounts had been deposited into the same wallet the day his savings were stolen, suggesting that many other people were scammed.
A CoinSpot spokesperson said they were aware of a possible matter involving an act of bank fraud.
“We will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities regarding any ongoing investigation,” he said.
“CoinSpot does not provide specific details related to individual accounts on our platform.”
Although Mr Rizvi was initially told by the CBA that the fraud investigation would take between 45 and 90 days, news.com.au understands that the bank will now reimburse him.
A CBA spokesman said the safety of its clients remains a priority.
“We invest in cutting-edge fraud detection and prevention technology and have a dedicated team that actively monitors for unusual or suspicious activity,” they said.
“Another way we try to stay ahead is by working closely with other banks to share information and understand potential threats.
“We are always very concerned when we hear about fraud and scams affecting customers and the community at large. Despite the commitment and best efforts of regulators, law enforcement agencies and the banking industry, such fraud and scams unfortunately still occur.”
The CBA spokesperson said they review fraud and scams on a case-by-case basis.
“However, it is widely recognized that scams are becoming more and more sophisticated, which has prompted increased investment across the industry in resources, systems, data and intelligence to combat scams and alert the Australian public to the risks involved. the community faces,” they said.
The spokesperson added that where there is fraudulent activity, the CBA process is to fully refund customers as quickly as possible to minimize inconvenience.
