Elderly residents in Frenchs Forest have become prime targets of scammers in a recent wave of sophisticated online scams, with two significant cases reported in the area last month resulting in substantial financial losses.
Frenchs Forest Cases Reveal Scammer Tactics
A 92-year-old Frenchs Forest man lost $23,000 in late February when scammers executed a technical support scheme. On February 26, the elderly resident was using his home computer when a pop-up message appeared on his screen instructing him not to touch anything and to call a specific number. After contacting the number, he spoke with someone falsely claiming to represent Microsoft, who subsequently gained remote access to his computer. The following day, the victim discovered two unauthorised transactions on his bank statement totalling more than $23,000.
In a separate incident also in Frenchs Forest, a woman in her 80s was contacted via telephone on February 24 by a scammer impersonating an Australian Federal Police officer. The call was then transferred to another scammer posing as a Commonwealth Bank investigator, who claimed to have detected unauthorised transactions on the victim’s account originating from Nepal. The elderly woman was persuaded to withdraw almost $10,000 from two local Commonwealth Bank branches and was specifically instructed to lie to bank staff if questioned about the withdrawals, being told there was a bank insider involved in the investigation.
Following instructions, the victim handed over the cash to a courier who arrived at her home using a predetermined code word. The scammers attempted to extract an additional $9,000 using the same method, but an alert bank teller became suspicious during the second withdrawal attempt. When questioned by the bank manager, the victim revealed the suspicious instructions she had received, prompting staff to contact police.
Northern Beaches Police Response
These Frenchs Forest cases are among eight recent online scam investigations currently being conducted by Northern Beaches Police. Authorities have released details of these cases specifically to warn older community members about the increasing sophistication of these scams targeting computer and mobile phone users.
Northern Beaches residents, particularly those in Frenchs Forest and surrounding areas, are urged to exercise extreme caution with unsolicited communications and to immediately terminate conversations when unknown individuals request access to personal or financial information.
For more information on identifying and preventing scams, residents can visit Scamwatch.gov.au.
Published 4-March-2025
