A 71-year-old pensioner has lost her entire retirement savings to an online scam while trying to find somewhere to live.
Sue had been looking for a new home after her rental lease expired, when she came across an advertisement for a caravan priced at just over $9000 on a website called VIC CAR DEALS.
Believing the listing was genuine, she contacted the seller and was sent a contract of sale before being given a bank account to transfer the money into.
“I contacted this woman, and she was really good. She helped me through the process, sent me the contract of sale, and the next day I got a message to say this was the bank account number to pay it into, which I did,” Sue said.
It was only later that she discovered the website appeared to be fraudulent and her retirement savings were gone.
Sue is also under significant financial pressure, spending almost her entire pension on the care of her husband of nearly 48 years, who lives in a dementia facility.
“He’s in a dementia ward, and so it costs me a lot of money,” she said. “I’m left with probably about $47 a fortnight to live on.”
The website was linked to an Australian Business Number using the name VIC CAR DEALS and listing two directors in Victoria. Both men denied any involvement, saying their company details had been hijacked by scammers.
Cybersecurity expert Bastian Treptel traced the fraudulent website and found it had been registered overseas.
“You can see here that it’s registered to … the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean,” Treptel said. “Not very Australian.”
Treptel warned that scams targeting online shoppers are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
He advised people to check websites carefully and look out for warning signs including stock photographs, poor spelling and prices that appear too good to be true.
For Sue, the loss has left her unsure where she will live and how she will manage financially.
“You think, what’s going to happen? Where are you going to go? Where are you going to end up?” she said.
Despite what has happened, Sue has tried to keep busy by crocheting blankets for her local church group.
“My husband used to call it ‘stitch and bitch’,” she laughed. “It’s just nice to be able to sit and talk.”
The fake website has since been reported to police and taken down, but Sue has not recovered her money.
When asked what she thinks of the people behind the scam, she said: “Scumbags. They’re horrible. To take money off innocent people, they’re just horrible.”
Sue hopes her experience will act as a warning to others and that she can eventually recover her savings.
“I would like my money back, desperately, and just hope that nobody else falls scam to these people. They’ve got to be made accountable for what they’ve done.”
Image: A Current Affair
