A real estate agent tricked into wiring $100,000 as part of a sophisticated investment scam says police told her the recipient bank account holder was likely a “mule” targeted by the same overseas criminals to help shift the cash.

Carla O’Neil thought she had done proper due diligence and was convinced her life savings were secure, telling the Herald “there were no red flags”.

The professional 45-year-old was scoping investment opportunities this year to grow her money while she saved for a house. She found a website comparing bank term deposit rates and registered her details.

She was contacted by an “intelligent and well-spoken” man with an English accent claiming to be a Citibank portfolio manager. He sent her prospectus information about the US financial institution’s fixed-rate bonds and term deposit options.

He appeared to use a Citibank email address and provided an Auckland phone number. The pair talked repeatedly while O’Neil researched the 12-month fixed-term investment at 7.1 per cent interest, described as “low-risk”.

O’Neil, who says she’s tech-savvy, “stalked” the man online to confirm he was real and based at the company’s downtown Auckland office.

Satisfied the investment was legitimate, O’Neil handed over her passport, address and bank account details.

She then visited her local BNZ branch and instructed staff to transfer $100,000 on February 17 to an ASB bank account specified on a Citibank-branded payment invoice.

Next, she was emailed log-in details to an elaborate online “client portal” where she could see her money had been received into the term deposit account and track her investment as it accrued interest.

But none of it was real.

A fake Citibank investor portal used in an elaborate scam to defraud a North Shore real estate agent out of $100,000. Photo / Supplied

The man with the English accent had been impersonating a genuine Citibank employee, and her money was gone in a scam that’s been on authorities’ radar here and in Australia since last year.

A month after wiring the cash, O’Neil received a bombshell phone call from BNZ.

“He said, ‘You’ve been involved in a scam’. I said, ‘No that’s not possible’.”

She hung up and visited her BNZ branch where staff confirmed she’d been taken in.

“I just burst into tears. It’s my life savings. It’s just heartbreaking.”

With the scammer’s number now disconnected, O’Neil contacted police who obtained a court order to force ASB to hand over the recipient account holder’s details.

But police told her the recipient was likely a “mule” caught up in the trickery, either moving money on as part of a romance scam, or their internet banking had been hacked by the thieves.

A fake Citibank investor portal used in an elaborate scam to defraud a North Shore real estate agent out of $100,000. Photo / Supplied

The banks meanwhile tried to freeze the stolen money to prevent its likely transfer offshore.

Emails obtained by the Herald show O’Neil sought repeated updates from BNZ about efforts to track the funds, telling the fraud protection unit: “This is my entire nest egg ... I am beyond devastated that this has happened”.

Another email last month said: “I find it impossible to believe that funds of this magnitude can just go missing and not [be] tracked and retrieved immediately”.

BNZ responded that the money appeared to have been transferred out of the recipient account and ASB was attempting to recall the money.

“There is nothing more the BNZ can do as we wait [for] an update from the ASB.”

Then last week, a mystery payment of $19,703.63 appeared in her savings account with the notification “ASB fraud”.

Carla O'Neil, 45, believed she had done proper due diligence and that the investment opportunity was legitimate. Photo / Michael Craig

O’Neil said she’d not received an explanation from either bank about the payment or clarification about the status of the rest of her stolen money.

She claims no one at BNZ questioned the initial $100,000 transfer or confirmed with her the legitimacy of the recipient.

In her opinion, the Citibank-branded payment invoice listing an ASB account should have triggered the bank’s suspicion.

O’Neil was now worried the scammers had her address. She asked police if she needed to move for her safety, but they told her the con man was probably based overseas.

She was speaking out to warn other Kiwis about the highly sophisticated scam.

“If I can get sucked into it I’m sure there are other people.”

‘Prey on people’s trust’

A BNZ spokeswoman said O’Neil unknowingly engaged with a scammer during an online search for financial services.

The bank had worked hard to recover the stolen money and assist police investigations.

Documents provided to the bank by O’Neil showed no evidence the $100,000 transaction was a scam, BNZ said.

It was not unusual for legitimate financial service providers to have accounts at New Zealand’s main banks. The $100,000 transfer was made to a valid bank account and term deposit transfers like this were common across the banking sector.

After being alerted to the fraud by ASB, BNZ immediately informed O’Neil and began urgent work to recover the money - $20,000 of which was successfully frozen and returned.

An investigation into the remaining funds continued.

“These investment scams prey on people’s trust in reputable brands and mimic investment firms and banks closely. No organisation is immune from impersonation.

“Anyone seeking financial services should contact investment firms through their official New Zealand-based websites and never via unprompted online contacts, emails, links or phone numbers sent directly to them, or on other websites they find on the internet.”

An ASB spokeswoman said transtasman banks learned in January that customers were being targeted by online ads offering term deposit rates significantly higher than the market, and issued warnings about the scam.

When ASB became suspicious about O’Neil’s transfer, it froze the remaining funds and sought an explanation from the recipient account holder.

“We have returned the sum of money, which was available in the ASB account at the time the fraudulent activity was identified and the account frozen.

“Where funds have been on-sent either within New Zealand or overseas, we will do our best to recover those from the receiving bank.”

ASB had provided all requested information to police.

Waitematā CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Bunting said police were investigating a fraud where the victim lost a significant amount of money to a bogus term deposit scheme.

“This is an emerging scam but is the latest in a long line of schemes designed to deceive people for financial gain.”

Scammers behind these schemes usually resided overseas, which posed challenges around enforcement action, Bunting said.

Police were making inquiries into the New Zealand-based account the $100,000 was deposited.

A Citibank spokeswoman said scammers in New Zealand were impersonating its brand. People should be vigilant when receiving “unsolicited offers from unknown parties”.

Citibank did not offer financial products or services to retail clients, or email unsolicited investment offers to individuals.

TIPS TO AVOID SCAMS

• Scams continue to evolve and use more sophisticated methods to deceive the public – the age-old saying “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”, is a good rule of thumb.
• Police encourage people to research “broker” companies online before engaging with them.
• Scammers will pose as brokers for a number of established banks.
• The Financial Markets Authority publishes the names of suspicious companies on their website.
• Always talk to your bank or another financial professional before making large online investments.
• If returns are higher than usual,it’s probably a red flag.Do your research and make sure the website is legitimate.

Source: NZ Police