News.au.com reports that the teenager, named Arora, received a fake SMS that appeared to be from National Australia Bank, where Arora also had an account. His belief was strengthened because, according to the report, this message appeared in another message thread with the same number received by him from the bank.
The report further states that the message asked the recipient to call his number if he had not authorized the transfer. So, in a “panic state”, he dialed the number provided in the message. Arora says that on this call, the background music and the caller’s voice and speaking style were also similar to the previous conversation he had with the bank.
Not only that he waited a long time to connect with someone on this number like a bank line!
When she connected with the scammer, the scammer suggested that she transfer all her money to a bank account for safety. This is where Arora got stuck and immediately transferred A$36,561.37 (around Rs 20.6 lakh) from his account to NAB’s account. As soon as the scammer hung up, Arora realized that the money was not actually transferred to the NAB account, but to a Commonwealth Bank account. Shortly after, he allegedly contacted the bank, which refused to help him, saying that the bank was not responsible for the lost money, since he authorized the transfer.
Arora started working at the age of 14. Since then she had amassed this capital by juggling multiple jobs. Arora, who lives in Albany, Western Australia, told the publication that she always knew the value of money and that, over the years, she has been as careful as possible at every step.