Too good to be true? Then it’s a lie.
Carlton resident Mary Sherwell was immediately suspicious when a polite male voice on the telephone told her she was about to receive $7000.
But she kept listening, just to get the gist of where this scam was going.
Although 83, and well into a target group for scammers who prey on the elderly and the vulnerable, Ms Sherwell is no pushover.
The money was actually her own money, the voice said, refunded to her by the government which had got it back from a bank which had been scamming her for years.
Then she was given a number to ring in a ‘‘government department’’.
‘‘When I called the number the woman on the other end knew my name and told me that in order to send me the money she needed my bank details,’’ Ms Sherwell said.
‘‘I told her to send me a cheque.’’
The woman then gave Ms Sherwell some convoluted story about the government suing the bank and how she would have to forfeit some of that money for the court case if a cheque was issued.
‘‘I told her I did not trust her and she hung up,’’ Ms Sherwell said.
‘‘If they were going to give you money they would just give it to you.
‘‘But people should be warned.’’
Have you received any phone scams lately?
