Banks helped many of the scam victims
What was somewhat surprising but wonderful to read was the level of help people received when scammed.
Around a third of commenters mentioned how the relevant authority – most often their bank – responded to the scam.
Among the 388 commenters who mentioned the outcome of an authority’s actions after losing money to a scammer, 70.4% recouped all their money.
Another 19.3% recouped some of it or were assisted to prevent further losses.
One person wrote:
“I was targeted at night (as seniors often are – just when you are tired) by a bogus Telstra scam – early next morning I contacted my bank – [bank name] – the female manager [name] was amazing and sorted it all out (& cleared me with online E-First Aid) promptly without judgement about my ‘stupidity’. Consequently I lost ‘face’ but no money etc. I wish there were more [manager name]!!”
Only 10.3% of this group did not receive help from authorities to recoup their funds. In some cases, the authority’s response was extremely poor, as in this person’s example:
“I had one of my bank accounts cleaned out when I was going through treatment for cancer and I wasn’t thinking straight. The worst thing was the bank told me I was a silly old woman.”
What you can do
The government website Scamwatch outlines some basic steps we can all take to minimise the risk of being scammed. They have a three-part slogan to help us all remember:
There is more information about scams in Scamwatch’s Little Book of Scams.
If you do happen to get scammed, don’t be embarrassed. There’s no cause for shame and you’re not alone.
If someone scams you it’s not you being stupid – it’s them being smart. Successful scammers are very clever, and they do this because they’re good at it.
Commenters often noted how persuasive the scammers were, or that they caught them out while they were feeling distracted or sick or tired.
But their experiences also show it is definitely worth reporting a scam and insisting the relevant authority do what they can to help you.
Contact your bank (or other authority) as soon as you become aware of the scam to maximise your chance of getting back what you lost.
Also please report your experience through Scamwatch’s report-a-scam interface because it can help warn others of new scams and can help authorities take action to catch or stop scammers.
And join NSA’s Keep Scam SAFE campaign that aims to protect older Australians so they are more aware, confident and resilient online.
Read the full report Older Australians’ Experiences of Online Scams here.
Related reading: This article, Chinese community comes together to tackle scams, tells how banks, government, and law enforcement helped residents in a Sydney suburb recognise scams and protect themselves.
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