A Woodville man has had a stroke of good luck after a phone scammer conned him out of almost $20,000 earlier this year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
NSW Fair Trading confirmed this week that the money had been traced and returned to the Hunter pensioner.
The money had been taken by a scam artist who claimed to be calling on behalf of the government agency in March.
The caller, who identified himself as Alan Spencer, told the Woodville man he was entitled to a refund of overpaid fees and interest because he had won a court case against the Commonwealth Bank.
He told the pensioner that he would have to deposit $19,400 of his own money into two accounts – from Westpac and National Australia Bank – before he could claim the $31,000 to which he was entitled.
We are very happy that in this instance we were able to return this gentleman’s money, but that might not always be possible.
- NSW Fair Trading commissioner Rod Stowe
But when no cheque arrived, as had been promised, the Woodville man called Fair Trading and discovered there was no employee called Alan Spencer.
An investigation traced the stolen money to two Dandenong residents, and was returned to the pensioner.
The Woodville man was unavailable for comment about the incident on Wednesday.
NSW Fair Trading commissioner Rod Stowe said the case was a timely reminder for people to be wary of cold callers who offered money or rewards in circumstances that seemed too good to be true.
“Scammers trade on consumer trust in Fair Trading and other government agencies, but people should know that no government agency will ever cold call you offering money,” he said.
“We are very happy that in this instance we were able to return this gentleman’s money, but that might not always be possible. So the best defence is to hang up and not engage with these people in the first place.”
Fair Trading advises people not to give out personal information, especially financial details, over the phone.
