"Very sneaky" new scam hits Australia
A new scam targeting taxi drivers has hit Australia, with a Melbourne cabbie revealing how he got scammed out $450 during a routine trip from Richmond to St Kilda.
Srijan told Melbourne radio station 3AW a “charming” British man and his girlfriend got into his cab for the 16-minute drive that totalled around $35.
As the end of the trip, both passengers were embarrassed they had neither cash or a credit card to pay for the trip. Instead, they told the driver he would transfer the money into his bank account using the ANZ app and he’d tip the driver an extra $15 as he had been so accommodating.
“I gave him my BSB and account number and he told me he was going to transfer $50,” Srijan said.
But the man returned saying he had accidentally put $500 in the account instead of $50.
“He was sure. He told me to check my account … so I logged in to my account, I can see $500 deposited into my account and that money I could use right away. It was right,” Srijan said.
He drove the man and his girlfriend to an ATM where he took $450 out and paid it back. But soon after, the original $500 deposit into Srijan’s account had vanished.
Srijan has gone to the police, who are now investigating the incident.
So how does the scam work? Experts say it is similar to a bounced cheque. The money is actually transferred but the person likely contacts their bank, claims the money was accidentally deposited and officially disputes the charges.
Cyber security expert and Associate Dean at RMIT University Professor Asha Rao told news.com.au the scam has “many layers”.
“I’m not sure if he used his own phone or the passenger’s phone, but if he didn’t use his own phone it’s very easy to fake,” Prof Rao said.
Queensland University of Technology senior lecturer in criminology Cassandra Cross agrees.
“(It’s) a new take on a classic fraud, the overpayment scam,” Dr Cross told news.com.au.
“This is very common with payments of online goods. Your example takes that to a different target with the mobile pay. In other circumstances, the cheque will bounce or a credit card will be stolen so the funds aren’t actually there.”
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reports 176 “overpayment scams” were recorded in May this year alone, costing Australian victims $68,449.
The website outlines how the scam works. “The scammer will contact you, make you an offer — often quite generous — them make payment through credit card or cheque. It will be for an amount greater than the agreed price.
“The scammer will contact you with an apology for the overpayment, offering a fake excuse. The scammer might tell you that the extra money was included to cover agent’s fees or extra shipping costs. Or they may just say they simply made a mistake when writing the cheque.”