A devastated bank customer swindled out of close to $50,000 says the fight to get the money back was “like torture” and left them needing to borrow from loved ones just to survive.
The victim’s story was shared as corporate watchdog ASIC revealed how $2.5 million had been siphoned from Australian bank accounts through deceptive schemes in the first five months of 2026.
The HSBC customer, who wished to remain anonymous, had been with the institution for more than two decades when a ping on their phone in September 2023 changed their life forever.
How the scam unfolded
“I received a text message that looked like the real messages I had always received from the bank, and it came through in the same message thread that I had received messages from HSBC before,” they said.
“The message said there had been a new mobile login from Perth, with a number to call if it was not me.
“I believed the message was genuine, and I thought I was doing the right thing to protect my money.”
They called the number and were soon chatting to someone they believed was a legitimate worker from their bank.
“The man told me he was from HSBC and that he was there to help me. He asked me questions about whether anyone else had access to my banking, and I said ‘no’,” they said.
While on the 10-minute call the bank client got a new, alarming message that $46,700 — “basically all of my savings” and money needed for a personal situation — had been moved from their account.
Emotional and financial fallout
“When I realised what had happened, I was trembling. I was in shock. I felt ashamed and I did not know what to do (at) first,” they said.
They called their bank and made a report with police, hopeful that acting quickly would limit the damage.
“Instead, what followed felt like torture. I kept calling for updates, but I was told to wait, told to go to a branch, told my details did not match, and told the investigation was still ongoing,” they said.
“Months and months went by and I still had no real answers about where my money had gone or whether I would get any of it back.”
With finances already tight, the scam victim had to borrow close to $20,000 from loved ones and ask their teen daughter to dip into her savings to cover groceries and other expenses.
“It was emotionally devastating. I could not sleep or eat properly. I stopped going out as much and stopped going to dinner with my daughter,” they said.
“I felt bad that I had lost the money and I punished myself for it. I felt like the bank was blaming me, even though I thought I was speaking to the bank and trying to stop a scam.
“I was upset that HSBC did not help me. I work in customer service myself, and I know customers should be listened to, understood and treated with care. I had to keep calling and go back to the branch, and it felt like no one could help me.
“What I still cannot understand is why scammers were able to use what looked like genuine HSBC messages in the first place.”
Wider pattern of HSBC scams
The fraud victim joined a long list of HSBC customers scammed in similar fashion, with some explaining how they had been targeted and felt unheard.
A Sydney man’s surprise plan to take his parents overseas was dashed by a cruel crime, he told 7NEWS.com.au, and a Melbourne woman’s dream of home ownership was reduced to rubble in just moments.
Just last week, HSBC Bank Australia agreed to pay a $35 million penalty after admitting it did not protect customers from scams.
The bank was aware as early as May 2021 that scammers were impersonating their staff, and admitted it failed to protect customers from financial and non-financial harm.
More than 1000 reports of unauthorised transactions worth $34.6 million were made between January 2020 and August 2024.
HSBC has apologised to customers and has enhanced protections.
ASIC warns of evolving scam tactics
Bank impersonation scams cost Australians close to $2.5 million between January and May this year, with 4278 reports made to Scamwatch.
Customers were contacted over the phone, by text, email, online, in the mail and even in person.
ASIC has warned about the evolving dangers of technology, with scammers able to make texts and calls appear like they are coming from a legitimate source.
The watchdog is also worried about how artificial intelligence tools including generative chatbots could be deployed to trick victims.
“Scammers will try to create a sense of fear and urgency,” ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said.
“They’ll try to pretend they are helping you to protect yourself from a scam; in reality what they’re trying to do is get you to hand over your personal information so they can get into your account and scam you out of your money.
“These scams can come through a phone call, text or email - and criminals can even ‘spoof’ a number to make it look a call is actually coming from your bank when it’s not.
“Your bank will never ask you to transfer money, share passwords or click on a link they’ve sent you to log into your account.
“If you get a call or message like this, stop, hang up and contact your bank directly using the number on their official website.”
New regulations and ASIC actions
New rules aiming to stop scam texts will come into effect on July 1.
ASIC said it is not shying away from the ever changing fight either, making it easier to check if websites of financial services are legitimate, working with specialists to remove dodgy sites and ads, and publishing alerts about suspicious entities.
