Constance Hall said he initially felt "stupid" when the scam came to light. Photo / Facebook
Constance Hall said he initially felt "stupid" when the scam came to light. Photo / Facebook
Constance Hall has said all of her savings have been "wiped out" following a sophisticated scam.
The mummy blogger form Perth has said she feels "stupid" and is "devastated" after she paid money through an email link to what she thought was a real estate agency to secure a rentalproperty for her and her children, only for the recipient to be a fraudster.
Taking to Facebook to explain her predicament, she said the bank had managed to recover a mere $7.57 of the thousands of dollars she paid out.
But Hall has insisted she is not trying to claw back the money from her followers and has asked people not to donate to a GoFundMe page that has sprung up.
On social media late on Wednesday, Hall wrote that she was now having "officially the worst school holidays ever".
But it was a struggle with the rental market in Perth so tight.
Constance Hall has said all of her savings have been 'wiped out' following a sophisticated scam. Photo / Facebook
"So I decided to look at properties that had been online for the longest amount of time, hoping to increase my chances.
"And there is was, a beautiful house with a pool and garden and four furnished bedrooms only available for four months, perfect.
"I'd never usually never spend that kind of money on rent but I felt like we all just needed a break and I could afford it, it just meant I couldn't save while I was there," she wrote.
Hall said she was accepted for the property. As ever there was some paperwork to sort out. That done, she received an email asking her to pay an amount to cover the bond and four weeks' rent.
'The kids will be so excited'
"It was a lot of money. I was clearing out my savings account and part of last week's wage, that's a big hit for the school holidays but I thought about how excited the kids will be when I tell them, it will be like a holiday in itself."
But then things began to go south.
"Friday morning comes around and I got a phone call from (the agency), saying that they had been hacked," Hall claimed.
"The last two emails that I had received on the same email thread weren't actually from them, it was hackers.
"The bank account details weren't really theirs and the house was never approved.
"At first I felt stupid, how could I let that happen? But I am a businesswoman, I pay large sums internationally often, I'm scam savvy and don't pay anything that hasn't come from a known contact with a credible email history, so no I'm not stupid. This could have literally happened to anyone desperate to get a rental."
Four-bedroom homes in the area Hall was looking at are generally between $700 and $1000 a week, meaning she could have lost as much as $8000.
Bank recovers just $7.57 of thousands
Hall said it was "all too much to take in" and the letting agent said "there was nothing that could do" and to call her bank.
The bank said as she had authorised the transaction the likelihood of getting any money back was "minimal" and to contact the police, who said much the same thing.
"Today the fraud department of Commonwealth Bank got back to me and told me that out of the thousands that I transferred they were able to recover $7.57 and that's that.
"The kids are devastated, we've had a s*** holiday coz (sic) mums broke and can't even apply for more.
"This is by no means a pity party, I'm in a better financial position then many, many people and for that I remain grateful and have to keep perspective," she said.
"But saving has never been easy for me and I was so proud of that money and felt like I was finally doing something that represented how well I have done despite all the odds.
"To have it all stolen in an instant … felt unbelievably unfair and it made me think about other single mums, mums who don't have their mum to rely on or the career that this following has blessed me with."
She added that she "just wanted to have an online cry" and to advise her followers that if you get an email to pay over huge sums of money, check with the organisation the email purports to come from first.
A number of people commenting on social media suggested the real estate agency should bear some responsibility.
"How is this not part or all fault of the real estate … if you've been hacked and scammed through their email accounts?" said one.
After rumours began to fly that GoFundMe page had been set up to help pay for the money lost, Hall insisted that it wasn't needed.
"You guys are so sweet but please don't do anything like that. Really I meant it when I said I do so well and your kind gestures will go further on yourselves or to people actually in need."
