The call that cost Laura almost all her savings
When Laura* received a call from NAB Bank informing her that her bank account had been compromised, she took immediate action.
But the person on the other end of the line didn’t try at all to help Laura.
The scammer asked Laura to download software and transfer nearly $5,000 to secure the money in her account – a total of about $120,000 in savings.
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When Laura started making the transfers, NAB’s fraud system triggered an alert about the transactions.
The payment had set off many alarm bells – including evidence that her laptop had been accessed remotely.
Jimmy Nguyen, a fraud analyst at NAB, immediately called Laura, suspecting that it was a remote access scam.
“We use biometric technology as part of our fraud detection system and the first red flag for us was an alert telling us that their screen was either shared with someone or accessed remotely,” Nguyen said.
“The criminals had persuaded Laura to download software that gave them remote access to her device.
“They told her she needed the application so they could explain how she could make a payment to secure her account.
“But once they were in their device, they spied on their activities.
“When something like this happens, it’s really worrying. Your banking activities and logins are for your eyes only.”
Within minutes of speaking with Laura, Nguyen knew that “something was going on.”
Initially, Laura changed her story several times and, when asked by a NAB banker, told Nguyen that it was a private and confidential matter.
It sounds like she was trained to give those answers, he said.
“I told Laura that NAB would never call her and ask her to do anything that could compromise her security, such as sharing a one-time PIN, transferring money to another account, granting remote access to her devices or sharing personal information.”
NAB’s fraud team then temporarily blocked Laura’s account to ensure criminals could not steal her money.
“There was a risk that the criminals could access Laura’s account and transfer her $120,000 in savings into her account,” Nguyen said.
A week later, Laura called NAB’s anti-fraud team back.
“When Laura had time to process what we had talked about, the penny dropped and she realized she had been deceived,” Nguyen said.
“She called our team back to report the incident.
“She was grateful that we helped secure the account so the criminals couldn’t access it.”
Customer protection is a priority
Laura’s story highlights the combination of technology investments and dedicated bankers working together to keep customers safe, said Chris Sheehan, Executive of Group Investigations at NAB.
“NAB continues to invest in fraud prevention and detection to keep customers safe,” said Sheehan, a former senior Australian Federal Police officer.
“We are seeing initial positive signs of this work: customer losses fell by 17 percent between October 2023 and March 2024 compared to the previous six months.
“Fraud detection initiatives include behavioural biometric technology as part of our anti-fraud engine, which can help us flag and withhold payments in real time, as well as payment alerts in the NAB app and online banking.
“In addition, our fraud, scam and investigation teams have over 500 experts working on the problem and supporting our customers day and night.”
Sheehan said criminals are masters at manipulating people’s emotions and creating a sense of fear or urgency.
“Their goal is to put pressure on the person to act quickly and share personal information or make a payment themselves,” he said.
“That’s why it’s so important to be vigilant.
“If you are unsure whether it is NAB calling you, simply hang up and call back yourself using the number on the back of your bank card or by searching for it on our public website – just like Jimmy advised Laura.”
