Dunedin pensioner Ray Johnson had nearly $100,000 siphoned from his Westpac online banking accounts. Photo / Peter McIntosh
A pensioner fleeced by cyber criminals who gained access to his Westpac online bank accounts then drained $100,000 was brought to tears after learning the bank has belatedly agreed to refund his stolen money.
But Ray Johnson says he’s disappointed it took intervention from the Herald for Westpac to have a change of heart, after earlier refusing to reimburse the retired wool grader for the missing cash.
“I think that made a hell of a lot of difference because they were refusing, refusing, refusing. It took publicity.”
A banking expert believes Westpac has likely breached the Code of Banking Practice and says Johnson could now have a claim for damages.
“It absolutely would be stressful for him and causing him a lot of concern, and it really was unnecessary,” Massey University banking expert Associate Professor Claire Matthews said.
Johnson, 71, 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 refused liability.
Johnson believes the thieves likely hacked his Westpac internet banking app before the money was wired offshore. The lost cash represented a third of his retirement savings, which…
