An Australian pensioner has told how he was scammed out of $10,000 after falling for a seemingly innocuous message. The NAB customer is warning others about the “sophisticated scam” that has already cost Australians millions this year.

Phillip Waller received a message that appeared to be from “Microsoft” saying that his computer system needed work. The 68-year-old received his login details, which he entered into his computer, allowing the criminals to access his computer.

Waller said the fraudsters called him and told him they were having problems with bank fraud, claiming they needed his help to “catch someone at NAB” who was running the scams.

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“They were incredibly persuasive and sounded so professional,” Waller said. “They asked me for my transaction limit, which was $10,000, and paid out that amount because they had access to my computer.”

The transfer triggered NAB’s fraud systems and prompted NAB fraud analyst Shivani Shukla to contact Waller about the transaction.

Shukla said she heard Waller talking to someone in the background during the call and quickly realized he was involved in a scam: “I asked him to hang up immediately.”

When he realized he was the target of scammers, Waller thought he was “so stupid” and should have realized something was wrong.

Shukla said she froze Waller’s account and was able to recover his $10,000 after contacting the receiving bank.

“They tried to reach me a second time with a different pop-up message and I knew it was a scam,” Waller said.

“I am grateful that NAB was able to get the money back. If it had been gone, I would have felt indebted to my family.”

Have you fallen victim to a bank scam? Contact [email protected] to share your story

134 million dollars lost through fraud

According to data from Scamwatch, Australians have lost more than $134 million to fraud this year, including more than $4.7 million from remote access scams.

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Scammers often use sophisticated emails, web-based pop-up messages, and phone calls to impersonate well-known companies like Microsoft, tricking people into believing there is a problem with their account, computer, or phone that needs to be fixed.

Chris Sheehan, head of investigations at NAB Group, said common warning signs of remote access fraud include unexpected contact and an urgency to complete tasks.

“Multi-factor authentication (MFA) for banking, email and online accounts is a quick and easy way to protect yourself,” Sheehan said.

“It adds additional steps, like your password and a one-time code, to confirm your identity when you log in.”

Australians should “stay vigilant”

The Australian Banking Association (ABA) is urging bank customers to “remain vigilant” for telltale signs of fraudsters.

“Although financial losses from fraud have fallen by 13 per cent over the past year and actions by government and industry, including banks, are making a difference, Australians are still losing far too much to fraudsters,” said ABA Chief Executive Anna Bligh.

Waller urges other Australians to be alert to unsolicited messages by phone, email or computer and to “turn off the computer immediately”.

“Restart the computer and contact the organization directly with the details you discovered,” he warned.

Your bank will never:

• Contact you in an unsolicited text message or email and ask for account or personal information

• Call and ask people to transfer money to another account over the phone

• Ask for online banking passwords by email, SMS or phone

• Request remote access to your devices

• threaten you with immediate action on a matter.

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