‘What I wish I knew before it happened to me’

Kimberly Gillan | Sponsored by Bendigo Bank

If Maude Freeman* had noticed that the ATM experience at her local mall felt different than usual, she might have removed her card before entering her PIN.

The first time the 37-year-old podcast producer realized something was wrong was later that day – while enjoying a celebratory end-of-week schnitzel at her favorite pub in Balmain – when her bank texted to say her account had been frozen.

“A minute later I got a call from them asking if I had just withdrawn $500 from an ATM in Leichardt,” Maude recalls.

“I was like, ‘No, I’m in the pub and I’ve got the card here with me – you’ll see EFTPOS transactions of the food and drinks I’ve bought. You can even look at the CCTV footage and you’ll see I’ve been here most of the night.’

Her bank immediately canceled her card to prevent further withdrawals and Maude returned to her friends table to explain how someone had managed to steal $500 from her bank account just a few suburbs away.

“It was quite creepy to be honest,” she says.

“I almost never withdraw cash, but I must have raised some money to buy something a few months earlier and had my card skimmed. They waited until a random Friday night to go and take out $500.”

While the bank launched an internal fraud investigation, they instructed her to go to her local police station to file a full report.

“I had to tell my story to three different police officers, and they wrote it down and read it to me. Then I had to sign the story they wrote,” she says.

Fortunately, Maude had savings, so she was fine while she waited for the $500 to be returned, but she was left feeling “dirty” knowing she had been scammed in her own community.

“I normally use my phone to pay for everything, so it was rare for me to take out cash unless I had to pay someone in cash,” she says.

“I’ve had other cases where my bank said, ‘Did you just try to spend $50 in Los Angeles and I was like, ‘No,’ but this time it felt dodgy. Leichardt has an older population who has always been there and whose entire lives probably still revolve around cash — I wondered how many times it had happened to these older people.”

Maude is certainly not alone when it comes to scams. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that more than 2 million Australians will have experienced card fraud in 2023-2024, with 72 percent fully reimbursed by the card issuer.

Bendigo Bank customers can be assured that the bank will act quickly in the event of a scam.

“If you believe your card has been lost and not stolen, you can temporarily block it via the Bendigo Bank app or through your e-banking,” says Dennis Teale, general manager of retail banking at Bendigo Bank.

“This is a great first step because it gives you some breathing room to look for it without having to worry about unauthorized transactions.”

If you notice any unknown transactions, Dennis recommends checking your receipts and then contacting the seller directly for clarification.

“If the issue remains unresolved or appears fraudulent, please contact the bank immediately by telephone or e-banking to dispute the transaction,” he says, adding that the bank offers comprehensive controls over your cards directly through its app.

“You can instantly activate new cards, temporarily block a lost card, or immediately report one as lost or stolen so you can quickly replace it,” he says. “All this is protected by robust security measures, including secure login options such as Face ID or a PIN, and multi-factor authentication to verify important activities, so your banking is both simple and secure.”

As for Maude, she is now very alert when she needs to withdraw money.

“I try to use ATMs from major banks and always cover my PIN with my other hand or a bag. The police told me that you often notice that the ATM ‘feels’ bigger than normal, and that could be a sign that [the fraudsters] have put something over the ATM that allows them to scan the card and the PIN code,” she says.

“It took a while to get the money back so if you think you have been scammed my advice would be to investigate as soon as possible.”

For more information about Bendigo Banks products and services, visit bendigobank.com.au

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*Name has been changed for privacy reasons.