We often get this call. A private number came in and you answered, but the other party didn't respond.
Lisa Johnston (Lisa Johnston) didn't think much when she hung up on Monday morning, but by then she had been deceived.
'it 's terrible, 'said Lisa, 34,' and the whole thing will be in minutes.
At 7 p.m., Lisa received a message from Optus that she had received a request to transfer her number to another operator.
Thirty seconds later, she received another message from Vodafone confirming that the request had been completed.
When Lisa tried to call Optus, her service was cut off. 15 minutes later, she was notified by the bank that 1000 yuan had been withdrawn.
Matt Krat, chief police officer of the Financial Crime strike team, said the fraud had got Lisa's personal bank information before stealing her phone number. "so they can answer any questions from banks or telecom operators."
Similar scams by organized criminal gangs have sprung up in the past two years.
Krat says the real loss for Australians over the past 12 months has been about $10 million.
Asked why Lisa's phone transfer business was processed within minutes without her authorization, Optus responded: "according to the law, the operator must complete the number transfer within three hours of receiving the request."
The police hope the time will be extended so that telecom providers can ensure that customers are identified. In this way, "there is time to get the customer to respond appropriately."
One of the worst things about this scam is that a liar can transfer your number: your name, address and date of birth with just a little information.
Lisa hopes that all telecommunications companies will enhance customer security. "even the bank will ask you for a password or pin code," she said.
If your phone has no electricity or no reason to use it, such as arrears of fees, you may be the victim of such a scam.
In this case, you are advised to contact the bank first to ensure that the money in your account is not lost, and then call the police immediately.
For Lisa, three days later, her cell phone was still out of use and the money was transferred. She said the money was supposed to be used to repay the loan.