Veteran footy journo is scammed out of $140,000 after he transferred the whopping sum to a hacker who was posing as his DAUGHTER
- Mike Sheahan fell victim to a simple scam when emails were hacked last year
- The cunning scammer pretended to be the AFL reporter’s daughter
- Sheahan then sent the $147,000 sum to the fraudster who was in Leongatha, Vic
A 72-year-old AFL journalist has been scammed out of $147,000 after he transferred the large sum of cash to a hacker posing as his daughter.
Mike Sheahan, from Melbourne, fell victim to the cunning scam when emails between his daughter and secretary were hacked last year.
The fraudster pretended to be Sheahan’s daughter in an email thread and advised the secretary that her bank details had changed, A Current Affair reported.
AFL ournalist Mike Sheahan (pictured), from Melbourne, fell victim to the elaborate scam when emails between his daughter and secretary were hacked last year
The fraudster pretended to be Sheahan’s daughter in an email thread and advised the secretary that her bank details had changed
In one email, the hacker reminded that the money had to be transferred into the new bank account later that night.
‘Remember, it has to be done tonight as dad will get a Text msg code,’ the email said.
Instead of transferring the $147,000 to his daughter, Sheahan paid the large sum to a complete stranger.
Sheahan’s bank, Westpac, recovered $7,000 immediately but were not able to get the rest of the cash straight away.
The footy reporter recalled the moment he was phoned by Westpac and told he’d been duped out of the money.
Sheahan was busy running errands and asked whether they could call back another time but they insisted it was news he needed to hear.
‘I was just stunned that this could happen, that I could have money in a bank account and forward it to another bank and find that it’s gone,’ Sheahan told A Current Affair.
They found the woman immediately withdrew two lots of $20,000 from her Commonwealth bank branch in Leongatha, Victoria.
They found the woman immediately accessed two $20,000 withdrawals from her Commonwealth Australia Branch in Leongatha, Victoria (pictured)
When she attempted to transfer the $100,000 to a Westpac account, the bank froze the account and returned the money to Sheahan.
I was just stunned that this could happen
Sheahan is still waiting on his missing $40,000 ten months later but isn’t hopeful he’ll see the cash anytime soon.
‘Imagine someone else my age and say that they’ve only got $40,000 in the bank and it’s gone, what do they do for the rest of their lives?’ he said.
The woman who stole Sheahan’s money still has not been charged.
Dr Chris Culnane, a cyber expert at the University of Melbourne, said the incident served as a reminder to use different passwords across all social accounts.
Sheahan specialises in AFL and hosts a weekly interview segment with Fox Footy called Open Mike.
Sheahan is still waiting on his stolen $40,000 ten months later but isn’t hopeful he’ll see the cash anytime soon