Westpac Bank analysing victim’s devices before decision on $49,000 reimbursement

Westpac Bank is analysing a pensioner’s personal electronic devices in a bid to identify how cyber criminals accessed his online accounts and drained them of $100,000.

Westpac’s online banking platform promises to refund customers in
full if they are the victim of internet banking fraud, subject to “terms and conditions”. The bank told the Herald it will await the result of its forensic investigation before deciding whether to reimburse the elderly man.

A banking expert says in her view, and based on the money apparently being wired offshore, the man has likely been the victim of a scam and Westpac should refund the stolen money unless it has proof he has been “wilfully negligent”.

Dunedin 71-year-old Ray Johnson discovered the money had been siphoned from his savings in three unauthorised transactions over two days in June, and immediately alerted Westpac and police.

Though Westpac was able to “stop” the two latter transactions of $11,000 and $38,000, the first withdrawal of $48,839 could not be recovered and the bank has refused liability.

Johnson believes the thieves likely hacked his Westpac internet banking app. The lost cash represented a third of his retirement savings which he’d bequeathed to his grandnieces.

Westpac – which announced a $1.1 billion profit last week – wrote to Johnson in September saying…