‘Hang up the phone’: Woman ‘is scammed out of $15,000 in a VERY elaborate ATO scam’ – here’s how to avoid being conned
- Man, 21, charged over alleged phone scam that saw a woman lose $15,000
- Victim, 66, is a recently retired nurse from Randwick, in Sydney’s east
- Following police investigation, the man was charged on Friday and refused bail
A brazen scam has seen a retired nurse swindled out of $15,000 after being intimidated on the phone by a fake cop, police allege.
The 66-year-old woman from Randwick in Sydney’s east got a call on February 17 from another woman claiming to work for the Australian Taxation Office.
The caller allegedly threatened the victim, a recently retired nurse, before transferring the call to a man, who claimed to be a police officer.
After being harassed over the phone for a number of hours, she eventually withdrew $15,000 from her bank account, police allege.
The 66-year-old was scammed out of $15,000 last month in a terrifying scam, police claim
The scammers claimed to work for the Australian Taxation Office when they contacted the victim, police say
Police from the Eastern Beaches Police Area Command launched an investigation into the matter and later charged a man
About 1.30pm on the same day, a man arrived at the woman’s home where she manged to take a photo of the alleged offender before handing over the money, police say.
The victim reported the incident to Eastern Beaches Police Area Command, who launched an investigation.
Detectives later arrested a man, 21, at Maroubra Police Station on Friday.
was charged with dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception.
The man, from Wollongong on the NSW south coast, was refused bail and will appear at Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.