A man will face court charged with nearly 30 fraud-related offences spanning the Sydney Metropolitan area following his arrest at Quakers Hill earlier today.
In the past six months, 28 incidents have been reported to police, where elderly victims were targeted by persons posing as bank officials. They have been allegedly tricked into believing their bank accounts and credit cards have been compromised.
On each occasion, elderly victims have been instructed to place their credit cards into an envelope and leave it in their letter box, along with their PIN numbers.
The cards were collected and allegedly used across greater Sydney to make purchases and cash withdrawals from ATMs.
Detectives from Riverstone Police Area Command commenced an investigation and identified offences using this method occurred in Riverstone, Kuring Gai, North Shore and Blue Mountains Police Area Commands.
Following inquiries, on Tuesday 12 November 2024, investigators attended a unit at Walker Street, Quakers Hill, and arrested a 22-year-old man.
Police later executed a search warrant at the premises and seized a number of items relevant to the investigation.
The man was taken to Riverstone Police Station where he was charged with 28 offences: dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception (27 counts) and recklessly deal with proceeds of crime.
The man was refused bail to appear before Blacktown Local Court tomorrow (Wednesday 13 November 2024).
Police will allege in court that the frauds exceeded $65,000.
Riverstone Police Area Command Crime Manager, Detective Inspector Meagan Finlay said the arrest was the result of an extensive investigation across numerous commands which resulted in identifying an offender targeting elderly people.
“We will allege in court that the offences were linked by a specific method across a number of police commands,” Det Insp Finlay said.
Police would like to use this incident to remind the public to take the following precautions to reduce the risk of being scammed by cold-callers:
• If you receive a threatening phone call (and demanding money), hang up immediately;
• Do not disclose personal details to the caller;
• Never provide your personal or banking details to a person who calls you;
• Never provide your financial PIN or account passwords to anyone;
• Do not make any payments to the caller, either via phone, internet, or cash;
• If you are suspicious about the credentials of a person on the phone, ask questions of them. If they avoid answering or refuse to provide information, hang up;
• Don’t let scammers pressure you – scammers use detailed scripts to convince you that they’re the real deal and create a high-pressure situation to make a decision on the spot;
• If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately; and
• Contact police immediately to report the incident.
To find out more information about scams or to find out other ways to protect yourself, visit www.scamwatch.gov.au.
If you have been the victim of a scam, you can report it to local police or to the ACCC online at the ‘SCAMwatch report a scam’ page or by calling 1300 795 995.
