Barefoot’s Lovely Aunty shares a shocking story

Hello Magoo!

I’ve been doing a kitchen renovation. My builder, who I’ve known for many years, emailed me his invoice. What I didn’t know is that a scammer had intercepted the builder’s email and changed the bank details. I transferred the money, and kissed goodbye to my $11,000! The bank has not refunded me. Something good has to come from this, can you please share this with your readers?

Aunty Barefoot

Hi Aunty,

That is truly shocking!

It’s even more so when you consider that you live in a small country town, that you’ve known the builder for years, and you were expecting the bill!
This is known as a phishing scam, and it’s much more common than you’d think. 

Right now scammers are targeting people’s super -- signing up for the early release payment.

If you’re not in the habit of checking your super balance, it could be years before you cotton on...

So, here’s what you should do:

Take out your phone right now and check your MyGov account, and make sure that no applications have been made on your behalf and that your contact details haven’t been changed. That’s how the scammers are doing it.

Second, verify every large bill you get. Take 30-seconds to call the person up and check that you have the right bank details. Businesses may be shut down in this pandemic, but it’s Christmas time for crooks!