WHEN Craig Kroker received a phone call from someone claiming to be from Telstra, he thought he was talking to a real Telstra employee.
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The person was a fraudster, and has left Mr Kroker about $6000 out of pocket.
Mr Kroker has recently been dealing with the National Broadband Network, and he said he was expecting a phone call from Telstra.
“A fake Telstra guy rang on April 24 saying they’re trying to catch some fraudsters online,” Mr Kroker said.
“It sounded so legit and you believe it because you think it’s Telstra.”
Mr Kroker is on a disability pension, and said he had worked hard for his savings.
“I’m not usually one to be sucked in, but I have something going on in the background of my life which made me more vulnerable to this,” he said. “They’ve cleaned me out.”
The caller told Mr Kroker to buy iTunes gift cards worth $2000 as well as giving them the ability to control his computer screen.
“They told me not to touch my computer for a day afterwards,” he said.
“I thought I was getting $500 for one day. They made me feel like I was doing them a favour. It looked to me as though they had put money into my bank account, but it was the opposite.”
Mick Parish of Mick’s Computer Repairs in Horsham said the caller had manipulated Mr Kroker’s computer screen.
“Craig gave them remote access to his computer, so they could control it,” Mr Parish said. “He was logged into his internet banking and they manipulated it to show that he had been paid $2000 to buy iTunes gift cards. They would cash in the iTunes cards and then have taken more money from his bank account.
“No software protection will help in this situation, because you are giving someone complete access to your computer.”
Mr Kroker’s case is now in the hands of Horsham Police and the National Australia Bank.
A spokesperson for NAB said customers should never hand out personal or financial information in response to an unsolicited phone call.
“In a situation like this, we would recommend the customer contact the bank or company back through their general customer service line to verify the call, ensuring they are speaking to a legitimate customer service adviser for that business,” they said.
“If a customer has any doubt, we advise they not provide any details.”
Mr Parish said people needed to be aware online.
“People need to know to never give computer access to someone you don’t know,” he said.
“Craig was expecting a call from Telstra and was scammed. I deal with this quite often and it’s so disappointing.”
