A Hackett author has had more than $11,000 stolen on his credit card by thieves in the United States who apparently "skimmed" the details from a transaction he or his wife had made somewhere in Canberra.
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The Commonwealth Bank has refused to quantify the number of recent reports of skimming in Canberra or even confirm that is what has happened.
The first hint Graeme Barrow had that anything was wrong was when his wife Nora could not pay for her hairdressing appointment using their shared Mastercard on Tuesday.
The hairdresser said it might be the business's eftpos machine playing up, so Mrs Barrow paid in cash and they put it down to "just one of those glitches".
However, on Wednesday Mrs Barrow did make some enquiries at the Commonwealth Bank in Dickson and was told the card had been blocked, but she could not be told why because she was "not the principal card holder" – that was her husband.
Feeling a bit miffed, Mrs Barrow passed on a contact number to her husband and he eventually talked on the phone to a person in security at the bank.
Mr Barrow was told the card had been blocked because three transactions had been made in the US America, totalling $11,400. The three stolen amounts were $4000, $3700 and $3700.
"She said, 'Now, don't panic about it'," Mr Barrow said, bemused.
"And I said, 'Well, I'm not actually panicking. I'm astounded that sitting here in Hackett in Canberra I could be caught up in a crime perpetrated in America.' And I said, 'How on earth could they have got our card details?'.
"And she said either my wife or I swiped the card in some transaction here and by some means which I can't understand these criminals in America got hold of my card details. They either fashioned a new card like a forged passport or might have used it online or over the phone."
Mr Barrow asked why the bank had not informed him the card had been blocked. The woman said it had sent an email. It had gone to an old email address and Mr Barrow had never received it.
Mr Barrow said he had been told the matter was now in the hands of the police.
Skimmers illegally install technology on ATMs and eftpos machines which store and steal credit card details.
The Commonwealth Bank would not comment on Mr Barrow's case "due to privacy issues" or even disclose whether he was a Commonwealth Bank customer.
It would also not confirm whether skimming was occurring in Canberra.
A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson stated: "Security is a top priority for the Commonwealth Bank. We invest in state-of-the-art fraud prevention and detection technology and have a dedicated team who actively monitor any unusual or suspicious activity.
"If a customer notices an unusual transaction on their account, they should contact us on 13 2221 immediately to report it.
" In all cases of fraud, we aim to provide customers with refunds as soon as possible to minimise inconvenience. This may take between three and 11 days depending on the individual circumstances and complexity of the case. More information can be found at commbank.com.au/security."
By coincidence, Mr Barrow also this week received two phones calls – he now believes they were recordings – from an American-accented man called Ron Watson saying Mr Barrow had a debt with the Australian Tax Office.
The caller demanded he ring back on a Sydney number or else risk being arrested and jailed for tax fraud.
Mr Barrow ignored the calls.
The Australian Tax Office confirmed it was a scam and the fraudsters had expanded their approach, including digital recorded messages and text messages in addition to the standard voice calls.
A spokesman said there were key differences between a scam of this nature and a genuine call from the ATO. Things to remember were:• The ATO would never cold call you about a debt. • Its operating hours were 8am to 6pm: it would never ask you to call before 7am.• The ATO did not use digital recorded messaging.• The ATO would never threaten jail or arrest.• If you received a call from the ATO and were concerned about its legitimacy, ask for the caller's name and phone them back through the ATO's switchboard on 13 28 69.
