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Don’t let scams become a taboo subject!! They are not a new thing but all ARE NOW increasingly common...
Help us raise money for our lawyers’ fees while we raise awareness for Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams!
This is what happened to my husband and me. One moment we were so happy and proud of ourselves and the next we felt so embarrassed, defeated and perhaps a little stupid. We don’t want the embarrassment and worthlessness to overcome us and we don’t want the shame to shut us up!! We want to raise awareness so more people know about BEC scams and stop this happening to others!
We were in the process of purchasing our first flat to live in and start a family. However, in the process of doing that, the real estate’s email account got compromised and the scammers managed to trick us into depositing our 10% deposit and life savings ($54,600) into the wrong bank account. We had no reason to believe that the email with the bank details was a fraudulent email, as it came from the same email address, same logo, same language (as the real estate would use) and finally, from the same thread of emails. The scammer sent an email reply reinstating the bank details and changed all bank details in the previous emails, to match the fraudulent. So if you were to scroll down to the other messages you would see the same bank details being repeated.
After we proceeded with the electronic bank transfer, we sent the receipt to the agent and then she proceeded by congratulating us on our new purchase. But it took her two days to let us know that the money hadn’t reached the trust account. From then on our reality changed. We are now faced with a situation that feels literally like a dark hole, an endless dark room with no cracks that let the light in. There’s absolutely zero help from the authorities. Since we filed the police report, we have had no contact from the police and minimal contact from the bank, even though the transaction happened between two accounts of the same bank. We have discovered that the banks never check the account name against the account number and furthermore, due to their ineffective processes, facilitate scammers to use their systems to enable fraudulent transactions and accounts. After our constant chasing, the bank informed us that from our $54,600, they were able to recover just $124.
The real estate has taken no responsibility and we are left to either come up with the 10% deposit again or pay a 6% contract breaking fee.
We feel so helpless and overwhelmed with anger. Apparently we are not the only ones; This type of email scam, Business Email Compromise (BEC) has been happening for a few years now. Reports indicate that the scam started in the real estate market back in 2017 in Adelaide. How come we were never told or made aware of such scams happening?
We can’t believe this has happened to us, and how easily this could happen to you or to your closest friend or relative.
We are not looking into getting our money back, we have been convinced by the bank and authorities that this won’t happen. As someone who has been defrauded through a BEC scam, we feel that consumers should have a little bit more hope or assistance in setting this right. These types of scams shouldn’t be placed in the same category as phishing scams. It’s not as simple as buying a faulty hoover or being given bad service for an inquiry you’ve made. This is people’s life savings, years of hard work and labor towards realising their dreams of their first house and plans of starting a family.
We know that we are not the first, but this is not the point, because we want to be the last!!
It’s baffling how badly understood these scams are. We have come to experience that this is a neglected area in the law and the longer the law is asleep, the longer innocent people will be hurt by this.
Through this fund raising campaign we want to raise awareness for BEC scams! There are so many ‘working class’ people out there that are using electronic bank transfers for such large amounts of money. In this digital day and age with electronic banking, there should be more education around the risks associated with electronic bank transfers. Believe me, you don’t want to be in this Kafkaesque nightmare we are in. Please be careful and help spread the word of danger when it comes to BEC scams and electronic bank transfers!!
Patrick and I understand that these are difficult times for everyone, and that people may not be in a position to help financially but please spread the message that this type of scam exists.
Thank you for your time, support and for making people out there aware :) Be safe!
Help us raise money for our lawyers’ fees while we raise awareness for Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams!
This is what happened to my husband and me. One moment we were so happy and proud of ourselves and the next we felt so embarrassed, defeated and perhaps a little stupid. We don’t want the embarrassment and worthlessness to overcome us and we don’t want the shame to shut us up!! We want to raise awareness so more people know about BEC scams and stop this happening to others!
We were in the process of purchasing our first flat to live in and start a family. However, in the process of doing that, the real estate’s email account got compromised and the scammers managed to trick us into depositing our 10% deposit and life savings ($54,600) into the wrong bank account. We had no reason to believe that the email with the bank details was a fraudulent email, as it came from the same email address, same logo, same language (as the real estate would use) and finally, from the same thread of emails. The scammer sent an email reply reinstating the bank details and changed all bank details in the previous emails, to match the fraudulent. So if you were to scroll down to the other messages you would see the same bank details being repeated.
After we proceeded with the electronic bank transfer, we sent the receipt to the agent and then she proceeded by congratulating us on our new purchase. But it took her two days to let us know that the money hadn’t reached the trust account. From then on our reality changed. We are now faced with a situation that feels literally like a dark hole, an endless dark room with no cracks that let the light in. There’s absolutely zero help from the authorities. Since we filed the police report, we have had no contact from the police and minimal contact from the bank, even though the transaction happened between two accounts of the same bank. We have discovered that the banks never check the account name against the account number and furthermore, due to their ineffective processes, facilitate scammers to use their systems to enable fraudulent transactions and accounts. After our constant chasing, the bank informed us that from our $54,600, they were able to recover just $124.
The real estate has taken no responsibility and we are left to either come up with the 10% deposit again or pay a 6% contract breaking fee.
We feel so helpless and overwhelmed with anger. Apparently we are not the only ones; This type of email scam, Business Email Compromise (BEC) has been happening for a few years now. Reports indicate that the scam started in the real estate market back in 2017 in Adelaide. How come we were never told or made aware of such scams happening?
We can’t believe this has happened to us, and how easily this could happen to you or to your closest friend or relative.
We are not looking into getting our money back, we have been convinced by the bank and authorities that this won’t happen. As someone who has been defrauded through a BEC scam, we feel that consumers should have a little bit more hope or assistance in setting this right. These types of scams shouldn’t be placed in the same category as phishing scams. It’s not as simple as buying a faulty hoover or being given bad service for an inquiry you’ve made. This is people’s life savings, years of hard work and labor towards realising their dreams of their first house and plans of starting a family.
We know that we are not the first, but this is not the point, because we want to be the last!!
It’s baffling how badly understood these scams are. We have come to experience that this is a neglected area in the law and the longer the law is asleep, the longer innocent people will be hurt by this.
Through this fund raising campaign we want to raise awareness for BEC scams! There are so many ‘working class’ people out there that are using electronic bank transfers for such large amounts of money. In this digital day and age with electronic banking, there should be more education around the risks associated with electronic bank transfers. Believe me, you don’t want to be in this Kafkaesque nightmare we are in. Please be careful and help spread the word of danger when it comes to BEC scams and electronic bank transfers!!
Patrick and I understand that these are difficult times for everyone, and that people may not be in a position to help financially but please spread the message that this type of scam exists.
Thank you for your time, support and for making people out there aware :) Be safe!
Organizer
Thalia Delyanidu
Organizer
Rose Bay, NSW