A young Whangārei family were left with only 44c in the bank after a stranger used their card details, which had been shared online, to fleece their account. Photo / Sarah Curtis
A young Whangārei family were left with only 44c in the bank after a stranger used their card details, which had been shared online, to fleece their account. Photo / Sarah Curtis
A young Whangārei couple fleeced of all their savings after someone posted their bank card details online is over the moon at the news they will get the money back.
The pair, who asked not to be identified, were “devastated” to discover last Saturday morning that they only had 44c left in their Kiwibank account after a stranger fraudulently used their card details overnight to spend the rest – $3500.
The money was intended for an upcoming mortgage payment, Christmas with their 4-year-old and supplies for the baby they are expecting in January. Instead, a stranger blew it all on an eight-hour online spending spree, during which they also ordered Uber Eats, played online gambling games, and cleared Afterpay debts – all at the couple’s expense.
At first, they weren’t sure how they would cope financially but luckily they had supportive employers who came to their rescue.
And on Wednesday, Kiwibank’s fraud investigators told the young family all their money would be reimbursed.
The couple were overjoyed and grateful – not only to their employers and the bank but also for the overwhelming response to their Facebook post warning others about their ordeal. Offers of financial assistance were “totally unexpected” and certainly not sought but “it’s great to know there’s still some good people out there,” the pair said.
They lost their bank card last Thursday but received a call from the bank soon afterwards saying it had been handed in and was waiting for them to collect.
Because of work commitments, neither could get to the bank before it shut on Friday. They didn’t ask for the card to be cancelled as they knew it would be safe until they could pick it up the following Monday.
However, unbeknown to them, the person who handed the card in had photographed it and on Friday night, had shared the picture to a local Facebook page without hiding any of the card’s details, all of which were designed to be on the back of it.
Kiwibank data shows about 40% of bank frauds and scams currently stem from social media. File picture
It was hard to believe the finder didn’t realise the need to hide the card details from the public, the couple said.
They also questioned why, having already handed the card into the bank on Thursday afternoon, the person even needed to make the post on Friday.
What should have been a simple, well-intentioned, gesture by the card’s finder created “a whole lot of mess”, the couple said.
The experience was a wake-up call, the couple said. They wanted others to know the risk and that lost bank cards should be cancelled and replaced – even if they had been handed in to a bank and even if a temporary hold had been put on the card. There was no guarantee that whoever found the card would not have recorded its details for later use.
A spokesperson for Kiwibank said the case had been referred to police.
“We have made significant investments to combat scams and fraud, including initiatives to raise customer awareness.
“Unfortunately, this type of fraud (where card details are made available online) constitutes a large proportion of card-related fraud – approximately 39% of fraud and scams committed against Kiwibank customers are enabled by social media.
“As the customer (in this case) was not at fault, they have been reimbursed for the fraudulent transactions.”
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference
