When Elizabeth* walked up to the counter at a South Australian NAB branch, the elderly customer was shaking.
And when she slid a note across the counter, customer adviser Tania Oxenham knew something wasn’t right.
“I had a gut feeling about it,” Oxenham said. “It just felt bad.”
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The words “fast payment” were written on the piece of paper, alongside an account number.
“Those words were a red flag,” Oxenham said.
Elizabeth had requested an urgent $10,000 transfer, claiming it was for renovations her niece was carrying out.
“I asked her what she wanted to do, and she just pointed at the ‘fast payment’,” Oxenham said.
“I looked at her hands, and they were shaking.
“I tried to slow things down and get more information about this transaction (but) she became emotional the more questions I asked to get to the bottom of what was going on.”
Oxenham asked if Elizabeth had copies of the renovation quotes, or could ring her niece to check the account details were correct before transferring.
Elizabeth had left her phone at home and did not know her niece’s number by heart.
“Something just seemed off,” Oxenham said.
Elizabeth eventually decided to wait before transferring the money, but made a small cash withdrawal from her account before leaving.
A week later, Elizabeth returned to deposit the money she had withdrawn.
“She seemed shaken when she visited the branch again,” Oxenham said.
“She told me she was thankful I had prevented the transaction, as she realised it was a scam.”
A man had called Elizabeth, telling her bank staff were trying to steal her money and she needed to move it to another bank.
“The scammer even told her not to discuss it with her son and continued to call her relentlessly after that visit to the branch,” Oxenham said.
“Elizabeth felt something wasn’t right after she spoke to us and didn’t pick up the subsequent calls.
“She realised we weren’t trying to steal her money and were actually protecting her from transferring it to criminals.”
The details of the bank account to which Elizabeth was told to transfer her money have been passed on to NAB’s fraud team.
‘Prime example’ of scam culture
Elizabeth’s story was a prime example of how criminals have become experts at creating a sense of urgency and pressuring victims, NAB executive of Group Investigations Chris Sheehan said.
It was “an example of the common red flags we urge Aussies to recognise to protect themselves and their loved ones”, Sheehan said.
“Scam attempts on our customers are increasing.
“That’s why colleagues across the bank are working every day to protect our customers and reduce the impact of this crime.
“Frontline colleagues like Tania are trained to ask questions — and it works.
“We have specialists at Fraud Operations investigating losses and trying to recover money for customers, and digital and technology teams leading projects and initiatives to prevent and detect scams before they start.”
Customers should always treat unsolicited calls with caution, NAB said.
“If you’re unsure about the legitimacy of a call, hang up and call back on an official phone number,” a bank spokesperson said.
Customers should not share personal or banking information over the phone, or share security codes provided by the bank.
*The customer’s name has been changed for privacy