Last week Stuff published a story about cyber crime. Readers were asked to get in touch if they had suffered from cyber scammers. These are some of their stories.
We hear a lot of about the tsunami of cyber crime but its nuts and bolts remain a mystery to many. That is until you’ve been scammed. Then they become all too clear and painful.
Last week Stuff ran a story about a company that was hacked and new bank accounts inserted into invoices it paid. When the company transferred the money into the accounts on the invoices – the accounts were held by beneficiaries in Auckland who were participants in the scam – it might as well have been sending the money directly to the scammers. Half the money disappeared offshore and out of reach.
Judging by the response to the article, these types of incidents and the inability of the police and banks to do much about it, remain far too common.
New build couple
Libby Wilson/Stuff
A couple building their dream home in Hamilton have been scammed.
In August last year a Hamilton couple who asked for anonymity, were in the process of building their dream home. A six-figure instalment to the builder was due when they received an email saying the builder’s bank account had changed.
They transferred the money to the new bank account only to find out eight days later the builder’s computer system had been hacked on the day the payment was made. The builder hadn’t spread the word.
The hackers used an account at Kiwibank held by a…
