Big win for pensioner who lost $39k in pre-Christmas scam

It cost Michael Walton from Melbourne around $39,000.

"They're heartless thieves. It's ruined my Christmas" he told A Current Affair.

The retiree received the costly call on his landline in October; a person with a foreign accent claiming to be from Telstra was on the other end of the line. 

Fearing not all was as it seemed, Michael hung up but the scammers were relentless.

"Then they rang back again, they kept on ringing back three or four times and they said we need to get onto your computer."

The man on the phone told Michael his laptop was riddled with viruses and said he needed to download the program "TeamViewer" to fix it.

It's a program that allows others to access another computer remotely.

Michael downloaded the software and entered a code, provided to him by the scammer.

That's how the thief gained control of his laptop, opening up a trove of personal information.

The hackers were able to obtain the former electrician's Westpac debit card details and made multiple purchases at an online Finnish retailer, totaling around $39,000.

"You can't trust anybody anymore," Michael said.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's deputy chair Delia Rickard says this type of remote access scam is on the rise.

"We've had over 8500 complaints about the scam so far this year with over $4 million reported as lost and that will just be the tip of the iceberg," she said.  

Ms Rickard warns you should never respond to the person who has contacted you out of the blue.

"If you think they're telling you a legitimate story, find the phone number for the organisation they say they represent and give them a call."

Westpac initially refused to reimburse the $39,000 for Michael but after being contacted by A Current Affair the bank told the retiree they would repay the missing funds.

A bank spokesperson told ACA the scam triggered a one-time security password which was sent as a text message to help Michael verify the transaction.

"Scams of this nature involve the customer participating in the transaction through agreeing to share their personal banking details with the scammer," the spokesperson said.

"We take protecting our customers from scams and fraud extremely seriously and have conducted a thorough review of the matter, including working with the customer to reach a resolution."

Westpac has invested heavily in scam education and detection and has even hosted Scam Protection and Awareness Seminars.

The bank's website also offers advice on the latest scams.

Statement from a Westpac spokesperson

As a general statement, scams of this nature involve the customer participating in the transaction through agreeing to share their personal banking details with the scammer.

In this instance, it also triggered a one-time security password which was sent via SMS to help the customer verify the transaction, including the merchant name, amount and currency.

We take protecting our customers from scams and fraud extremely seriously and have conducted a thorough review of the matter, including working with the customer to reach a resolution.