A crime syndicate that pretended to be investigating thefts from elderly people was a ruse, a court has heard, but only one man has been arrested and charged.
The victims were convinced to divulge confidential information during lengthy phone calls or emails with unknown persons pretending to be from PayPal’s fraud department, Telstra’s security crime investigation squad, or McAfee Antivirus.
They were told their bank details had already been hacked and were being used for illegal transactions such as buying drugs and even weapons overseas.
The scammers claimed that the victims’ credit and debit cards needed to be collected and stored securely to prevent more funds from being stolen and should be put in an envelope and left in the letterbox for collection.
One woman was told to withdraw $20,000 (US$12,400) cash from her Commonwealth Bank account after spending days on the phone with a man falsely claiming to be from PayPal’s fraud department.
Accomplices Were Anonymous, Scammer Claims
Only one man—Indian student Aman Kuma—has been caught and charged over the thefts.
He was arrested in November and has just admitted his role in the syndicate and pleaded guilty to almost 30 fraud charges at Blacktown Local Court. But he claimed he could not assist police in apprehending his accomplices as he had been following the instructions of an unknown person on WhatsApp.
The 22-year-old, who lives in Quakers Hill in Sydney’s west, collected bank cards and the $5,000 in cash from the homes of five victims, taking a total of around $48,000 from their credit and debit card accounts.
CCTV footage caught him making numerous purchases with the stolen cards at shopping centres and petrol stations across Sydney.
He purchased 10 iPhones, which he sold to a man in a Strathfield car park. He told police the money from that deal was then taken to a woman he met in a car park in Bankstown.
He also purchased $4,150 in Visa gift cards, photographed the relevant details, and sent them to the syndicate through WhatsApp.
Thousands more dollars were withdrawn from ATMs or transferred internationally via Western Union.
Kumar was also caught using the stolen funds to buy himself things, including basketball shoes, branded sports clothing, groceries, fuel, cigarettes, and beverages.
Three elderly women lost between $6,600 and $17,000, while one couple had almost $12,000 stolen.
Kumar admitted 27 fraud charges and one count of recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime. He remains in custody awaiting sentencing on Jan. 24 after police raised concerns he could flee to India if he was released on bail.
The court has been asked to order that he repay amounts defrauded from the five victims.
