WHEN Melissa Donnelly got a call to say she was entitled to a reimbursement of $3000 in hidden bank fees she started to look forward to a potential unexpected windfall.
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That was before she realised it was just a ploy to get her money. Now she is warning local people not to be fooled by what might be one of the most believable scams we’ve seen in Bathurst.
Ms Donnelly said she was contacted last Tuesday by an operator who said she belonged to an organisation that was working with the Department of Fair Trading to reimburse people for hidden bank charges that may have accumulated over time.
The woman told Ms Donnelly the federal government had given ‘Reclaim Experts’ a list of all the people who were entitled to have money refunded.
“She said I was entitled to $3000 in hidden back fees and that I should contact her supervisor, Brian Adams, to arrange payment,” Ms Donnelly said.
“That sounded a bit off, but you never know.
“I spoke with him and he asked how I would like the money, cash, cheque or bank deposit.
“I said I would prefer it to go into the bank,” she said.
Ms Donnelly gave him details for a debit card with no money in the account, and he told her to show some identification at the post office and take out a Western Union money transfer for $225. He said this would prove that her identity had been confirmed.
Once she paid the money she would get an ID number which she would give to Reclaim Experts and, five to 10 minutes later, the $225 plus the $3000 would be in her account.
She did not go to the post office.
Instead she contacted the Department of Fair Trading and was told they do not work with other agencies. Any money owed by State Revenue or other government departments would go directly to the customer and there would be no requests for payment.
She also put in a call to her bank and was informed there are no longer any hidden bank fees.
Ms Donnelly said the State Department of Revenue said they had received more than 50 phone calls about this issue in the last week alone. The scam has already swept through Western Australia.
Of course, once the $225 money transfer goes through no money is forthcoming.
Ms Donnelly has since cancelled her debit card, which proved very inconvenient.
“I’ve learned my lesson,” she said.
She said that as a former telemarketer she is always on the lookout for scams.
“I wanted to listen to what they were really offering and ask questions to get an understanding of what was going on,” she said.
