Overview

• Scammers remotely accessed the 84-year-old’s device and pressured her over several days to raise her daily internet banking limit from $5,000 to more than $50,000.
• Bank staff in New South Wales spotted her holding a phone and a notebook filled with prompts from the caller and identified the displayed number online as likely linked to a scam.
• Relief branch manager Vanessa Kruger and adviser Tiffany Bailey intervened to halt the unauthorized request before any funds were transferred.
• The recently widowed grandmother returned to the branch a week later with her full balance intact and personally thanked the staff.
• The ACCC has warned that remote access scams often start with unsolicited calls urging victims to install software that gives scammers control of their devices.