Scammers who posed as Centrelink staff have tried to steal hundreds of dollars from a Maitland pensioner.
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The senior citizen, who asked to remain anonymous, said he recieved a phone call from a girl with an accent earlier this month who claimed to be working for Centrelink.
She said the man and his wife had been underpaid on their pensions by $100 per month each. She said she was going to issue them two cheques at a value of $2400.
“It sounded plausible until she said that,” the man told Fairfax Media.
”I smelt a rat, but I played along.”
The woman then told him he would need to purchase six $100 iTunes cards from Woolworths and send her the codes before he could pick up his cheques.
The man said he then reported the scam to Centrelink and the police, but he said he worried about other seniors in the area.
“Today it was at my place, tomorrow it could be yours,” he said. “I want these bastards stopped, I’m telling everyone I know.”
For more information visit scamwatch.gov.au