Louis May, a 24-year-old first-time homebuyer, was the latest target of an increasingly common scam. He lost his hard-earned $110,000 house deposit in the process. Yet as he attempted to purchase his first residential property, the attack was a bitter lesson in the dangers of today’s hyper-connected world. Even the most tech-savvy among us aren’t immune to such risks.
This entire unfortunate chain of events started when Louis opened an email from what he thought was his attorney’s address. The email recommended that he complete this Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) form. He didn’t hesitate, he jumped right into the directives. This email came from a third email account. Louis thought it was real because his attorney had contacted him from two different accounts previously.
Acting on his lawyer’s advice, Louis wired the larger amount to an account at a bank in a different city. He had checked transaction details with his bank before making the transfer. Unfortunately, the email was fake, and Louis quickly found out that his money had disappeared into the pocket of scammers.
“When I said: ‘I did what you had told me,’ and he said ‘I’d never emailed you a PEXA form,’ my heart dropped.” – Louis May
The scam’s fallout has been financially devastating for Louis. He is now up an additional $600 per month in interest payments. He said he borrowed this money from a family member to be able to move into a more modest apartment. He endured ten-hour shifts six days a week as an electrician in his family’s factory. From the age of 23 he worked hard and saved to buy his first home.
Even with Louis’s tech savvy and caution, he was caught in a pipeline of fraud. In addition to the fraudulent email, he received a call from someone who cloned his bank’s number, further misleading him into believing that he was communicating with the bank’s fraud department.
“These scammers put you in such a panic, you can’t think straight.” – Vicky Schaefer
Louis’s mother, Alex Brooks was instrumental in pushing him through the disturbing aftereffects and fallout of this experience. She went on to describe her outrage at the entire situation and point out the fact that it looked like someone had leaked Louis’s private home-buying information.
“Someone obviously had breached his confidential home-buying details.” – Alex Brooks
Though difficult to gauge, the emotional toll on Louis is tangible. He suffers under the notion that he has been financially and emotionally bankrupt.
“I feel like I’m further back than I was last year — even still now.” – Louis May
As he looks back on everything that happened, Louis admits that he was overly confident in his ability to sniff out and thwart scams.
“I thought … I’m a young person. I’m not going to fall for a phone call where someone is pretending to be someone else.” – Louis May
Yet, the reality has been harshly different. The experience has taken all of the hopeful naivety he had about homeownership right out of him.
“I thought it was going to be a really, really good time in my life. But unfortunately, I’ve been knocked way back down.” – Louis May
There’s so much stacked against him, Louis is not going to let this moment break him. None of the money lost in the scam has been fully recovered according to him. Today, that has left him fighting against disappointment and frustration toward the financial institutions responsible.
Cody Nagel, an expert in fraud prevention, said that these types of scams go beyond the immediate victims.
“Most people out there would never for a minute think that banks are not required to check the name that’s given against the BSB and account number.” – David Locke
He elaborated on the fact that just adding more policing and law enforcement isn’t a way to respond to these problems in an effective manner.
“We acknowledge that we can’t actually arrest our way out of this problem.” – Cody Nagel
Alex Brooks provided her unique insight as to why the justice system has failed to address high-end financial fraud.
“It beggars belief what goes on as people try to seek justice and restitution.” – Alex Brooks
Louis’s resilience and spirit carry him through this challenging period of his life. He remains committed to his personal and professional recovery after painful financial loss and the lessons of this frightening experience. His story is a cautionary tale to everyone to never lower your guard against scammers. Even the most technically adept among us are at risk.
