Maureen Deans, 86, was left with just $200 in her St George Bank pensioner account after the scammer struck last month.
“How could they be so cruel? I’m horrified that people would do this sort of thing,” Maureen said.
“I was left with no money to pay my bills.”
The nightmare began for Deans and her daughter Joanne on July 29.
On that day, Joanne got a text message from Medicare saying she had been in close contact with someone who had COVID-19.
It asked her to click on a link to order a coronavirus test kit.
“Someone at my work had just tested positive to the coronavirus. I could just kick myself now, but that’s the reason I clicked on the link,” she said.
Joanne was asked to enter her credit card details and a home address for delivery of the test kit.
Realising soon after that it was likely a scam, Joanne said she went into her local St George branch and reported the incident, expressing her concern that her credit card details may have been compromised.
Then, less than a week later on August 3,…
