By Olivia Day For Daily Mail Australia
05:02 03 Oct 2022, updated 12:26 03 Oct 2022
- Call centre in the Philippines raided after Aussies fell victim to elaborate scam
- Operators alleged to have contacted victims and offered better returns on super
- At least six Australians each lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to the scam
- Fake financial planners with ‘Australian accents’ also used to trick their victims
- Queensland builder lost $200,000 to scam with his own daughter also targeted
A call centre in the Philippines has been dramatically raided after innocent Aussies lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in a high-level superannuation scam.
Investigators interrupted up to 30 operators working in a call centre in Metro Manila as they phoned dozens of unknowing Australians in the hopes they could be tricked into handing over their hard-earned super funds.
The scammers from the phoney ‘ASAL Group’ operated by reading victims a detailed script that promised better returns on their super and by ‘cloning’ the details of a legitimate company owned by financial services company AMP.
Victims were told to ‘check out’ a professional website with others going as far as depositing money into a seemingly legitimate ANZ account, the ABC’s 7:30 reports.
The scammers, who sat in cubicles wearing headsets, would gather information on their victims by asking questions about their lifestyle and spending habits.
One unlucky victim was Rob Wade, whose own daughter was also nearly entangled in the same cruel scam. The Queensland builder lost $200,000.
Speaking to the ABC, Mr Wade said he had only realised he might have been scammed six weeks after transferring the hefty sum to an ANZ account, that was actually run by the scammers.
He said he was contacted by a phone number with an NSW area code and spoke to a man scammer named Justin, who he said had an Australian accent.
Justin, who Mr Wade said had extensive knowledge of super funds, recommended the builder switch to a ‘high-performing product’ they used with Morgan Stanley, a well-known investment and financial services company in the US.
However, Mr Wade’s hard-earned dollars would never reach the superior ‘self-managed super fund’ that Justin and his colleague had raved about.
‘When I actually got the bank account details, which we had to transfer the money into, I thought it was an Australian bank, ANZ. It can’t be a scam,’ Mr Wade said.
‘They actually supplied me with an app, and you can see everything on the app, what was going on, showed me what the money was doing.’
His daughter, Rebecca, believes she was also targeted by the scammers.
She had considered switching to ASAL Group, but it was flagged by her fund AMP, who asked if she had filled out a rollover form.
Ms Wade now believes the form was forged by the fake financial planners and feels grateful she wasn’t left in the same predicament as her father.
‘I physically felt ill, just knowing that, you know, my super fund luckily had been stopped … but my parents’ entire super fund had been taken,’ she said.
A third victim, Louie Rinaldi, lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Like Mr Wade, he went to the effort of doing his own detailed checks, but still had his funds stolen shortly after they were transferred to the ANZ account.
Mr Rinaldi said a detective with the Victorian Police said his money was likely moved either overseas or converted into cryptocurrency in just 24 hours.
‘Some people could say it was my fault. I openly sent that money,’ he said.
‘But I was obviously scammed and I was scammed by some very, very, very clever people that have a lot of resources behind them.’
In a statement, ANZ said the matter had been reported to Victoria Police after the institution became aware of the ASAL Group scam.
Up to six Australians have fallen victim to the scam, with Ken Gamble, the head of private intelligence firm IFW Global, travelling to Manila to oversee the raid and represent the six whose lives had been devastated by scammers.
He and armed officers from the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group witnessed the search warrant with material from seized computers still being investigated, along with the roles of up to 30 phone operators.
Following the raid, officers visited the home of a British man living in Manila, who is alleged to be involved with the running of the call centre.
No charges have been laid on him, or any of the phone operators, however their role in scams targeting Australians will continue to be investigated.
An AMP spokesperson told the ABC: ‘We are sorry to hear the experience of people who fell victim to this scam.’
‘Of the five AMP customers that fell victim to the scam, AMP was able to recover or reimburse funds for all but one,’ they said.
‘In instances where people are concerned they may have been scammed, it is critical to contact their financial institution as quickly as possible to increase the chances of funds being recovered.’
