Aurora received an alarming text message that she believed was from her bank, which stated someone with a name she did not recognize was attempting to make a transfer from her account.
The message appeared to be from National Australian Bank, as it was from the same number and in the same text message thread as previous, legitimate communications from the bank.
This technique is known as spoofing and is commonly used by scammers to appear more legitimate to potential victims.
The text urged her to call their 1800 number if she had not authorized the payment, which the teenager decided to dial as she was in a “state of panic.”
The text appeared to be from NAB, and when she dialed the phone number for help, she claims the music and voice prompts were identical to when she called her bank in the past.
Aurora was then greeted by what she describes as a “professional and polite” man with a British accent, who explained to her that someone had gained access to her bank account.For her financial security, she was told to transfer the entirety of her savings into another NAB account in her name, which the man was supposedly setting up for her on the phone.
Aurora believed him, and quickly sent over $25,158.88 – her entire life savings. Seconds after confirming the transfer, the man hung up.
After looking up the BSB, she realized that the account she transferred her savings into was actually a Commonwealth Bank account, not NAB.
https://nypost.com/2023/01/07/teen-loses-25000-after-falling-for-phone-scam/
