Netsafe warns scams tricky to spot as elderly couple lose thousands in bank-card fraud

An elderly couple were contacted by a phone call and convinced by a fraudster to hand over their Pin number and place their bank card in the mailbox for collection. Photo / 123rf

An elderly couple scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars in a “dreadful intrusion” has highlighted the cunning ways fraudsters operate.

Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Pilmer said the couple had been contacted by phone about replacing their bank cards. They were told to put them in the mailbox for collection, as well as hand over their Pin details.

Police were investigating after the couple’s bank accounts were drained of “tens of thousands” of dollars over the weekend.

Pilmer said the scheme proved just how confident and persuasive fraudsters could be.

Grey Power Northland director Bruce Crowther said he couldn’t imagine how the duo were feeling.

The scam was a “dreadful intrusion” that had likely left the couple not knowing who to trust, he said.

He described scammers as “amateur psychologists” in the way they manipulated people.

Netsafe’s chief online safety officer, Sean Lyons, warned that anyone could become the victim of a scam. While some scams specifically targeted older internet users, younger people were at risk too.

“​​It’s not only the vulnerable who are targeted.”

Lyons said scams could be tricky to spot and were becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Financial frauds often involved people based in New Zealand who could be victims of an employment or get-rich-quick scam themselves, he said. They could be used as unwitting money mules to provide bank accounts for fraudulently obtained funds to pass through.

People could also be instructed to withdraw money and send it via wire transfer or convert it into cryptocurrency before sending it on.

Northland represented just 3% of scams and fraud reports to Netsafe in the past 12 months, of those who reported what region they were in.

Sean Lyons of Netsafe says anyone could fall victim to a scam.

Lyons said recovering money from scams was an incredibly challenging task.

“Our data shows that only about 17% of scam victims actually managed to get their money back, while 43% attempted to but failed, and 23% didn’t try at all.”

The idea that there was a specific type of person more likely to fall victim to scams made others less vigilant, Lyons said.

Crowther said the couple were not alone in being duped.

He had once got so far as to have his bank account open on the screen in front of him before alarm bells rang.

Crowther said he had been working for years to encourage the older generation to seek education around technology and the risks of scams.

“It’s a real generational problem, and I’ve tried to help where I can.”

Crowther believed grandchildren were not the right people to help with technology. During that process, they could access passwords and banking details.

He described multiple instances where the elderly had been ripped off by their own family members in such a way.

Crowther said many of the older generation were proud and did not want to be seen as ignorant.

“People are unwilling to go [to workshops] because they’re ashamed, and that’s powerful with humans. They don’t want to look like dummies.”

Crowther said some were reluctant to start phone or internet banking, but once they ventured into it, they quickly became comfortable.

Attending workshops or tutorials provided by banks was a good way to build confidence and protect themselves, he said.

Age Concern spokeswoman Sarah Maxwell said online security was a growing challenge for all ages.

She said the financial and emotional impact of online scams could be severe on the older generation.

“Many are on fixed incomes or have limited financial flexibility, making it harder to recover from losses.”

Age Concern was involved in an average of 11 new cases each working day last year, with 31% of those cases involving financial abuse.

Maxwell encouraged open conversations within families about how to support and educate one another.

Lyons said red flags included pressure tactics or asking to change platforms.

People should be wary of unexpected and urgent contact, as banks would rarely cold-call with such requests, he said.

Police said as of Thursday afternoon that no arrests had been made and the investigation was ongoing.

They were not aware of similar reports emerging in the wake of the scam either.

Maxwell encouraged anyone experiencing such to call 0800 EA NOT OK (0800 32 668 65).

An online webinar titled Staying Safe Online was also planned for Wednesday, October 8, at 11am. You can register via this link.

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.