An Australian business owner, Andrew Ryder, recently faced a distressing situation where $10,000 was stolen from his bank account in a sophisticated SIM card scam. The scam involved transferring his phone number to another device without his consent, allowing the fraudster to access personal information and carry out unauthorized transactions.
Andrew Ryder, a resident of Townsville, Queensland, first became aware of the scam when he received notifications about changes made to his online profiles with Telstra and Optus, although he had not initiated them. Upon investigation, he discovered that a new e-sim had been activated on his number by an impersonator who had managed to convince Optus to make the SIM switch.
Within a mere 24 hours, the scammer managed to deplete $10,000 from Ryder’s bank accounts, as well as use his details to open Zip Pay accounts and take several Ubers. Despite the fortunate turn of events where Ryder’s bank, Defence Bank, agreed to refund the stolen funds, the aftermath has left him grappling with the arduous task of reclaiming access to his various accounts.
Expressing frustration with the unhelpful responses from Optus and Telstra, Ryder criticized the telcos for their lack of assistance in providing information about the scammer’s activities and preventing such incidents in the future. Optus has since stated that they are working on enhancing protocols to deter unauthorized SIM-swaps and have advised customers to remain vigilant about their security measures.
This incident serves as a cautionary tale for individuals to safeguard their personal information and regularly update their security measures to prevent falling victim to similar scams in the future.
