Australian mom scammed out of $140K in bank deposit scheme

A mother has spoken of how she was left desperate after what appeared to be a mistaken $147 credit to her account led her $140,000 life savings to vanish.

Donna Brain, from Melbourne, Australia, had planned to put the money towards a new home following a painful divorce.

“I don’t even know how it happened. After everything I’ve gone through, I just wanted a nice house to live in,” a tearful Brain told Channel 7.

The incident has highlighted just how sophisticated scammers have become.

Brain was all set to move into a new home following her marriage break-up when a curious transaction occurred on her Commonwealth Bank account.

A sum of $147 was transferred to the 56-year-old nurse’s account under a mysterious name that she didn’t recognize.

Then came a phone call, purportedly from her bank, where Brain was asked to return the $147 which – it was claimed – had been sent to her by accident.

“They didn’t ask for any NetBank numbers or passwords,” she said.

But the information the criminals now had was enough.

Initially, a withdrawal of $350 was made from Brain’s account. When they went through successfully, more withdrawals followed.

“They transferred six lots of $14,000 and then $56,000,” she said.

Bank scams are on the rise with shady phone calls, suspect emails and even fake websites that mimic the sites of established banks and are there to fool you into handing over you passwords and account details.

People should always be wary if someone they don’t know or even someone saying they are form a company they’ve head of pressures them into making a payment or handing over any personal information.

Commonwealth Bank refunded Ms Brain’s $140,000 and her house move is back on.

However, banks have warned that they are not always able to pay back cash that has been stolen from accounts by scammers. So people should always stop and think if that unsolicited call from the bank, unexpected email or strange transaction is all above board.