An Aussie tourist has revealed how he woke up to find $18,000 missing from his bank account while holidaying in Bali after scammers cloned his card.
Asher Shaw said he went to bed after having beers at a popular venue, not knowing he was the victim of a scam that had likely occurred earlier in his trip.
‘I was having Bintangs at the FINNS Beach Club one night,’ Mr Shaw said.
‘I go to bed, wake up, and my account has gone from $20,000 to $2,000. I’m like holy s***, what is going on?’
Mr Shaw learned later he was the victim of card skimming, a process where criminals attach an illegal device to an ATM machine to steal card details and PINs before using that information to access the account.
‘I kept getting cash out because I had to pay for things,’ he said.
‘I took the money out and it was all good, but what I didn’t realise was they had these devices that scanned your card when you put it in.
‘They then print out like a physical card that has all your numbers and has all your details.
An Aussie tourist has recounted the harrowing moment he woke up to find $18,000 missing from his bank account while holidaying in Bali after scammers cloned his card and withdrew cash
‘They know your PIN because they have a little encoder thing that scans that as well.’
While he was asleep, Mr Shaw said the thief went on a withdrawal spree, taking out $18,000.
‘So while I was asleep, someone took my card or printed a new one and used 10 to 15 different ATM machines, pulling out cash ranging from $5 to $100 to $150,’ he said.
‘They were going crazy.
‘I think they were going all night and because they had my PIN and all my details, the bank just let it go.’
Fortunately for him, the issue was resolved and he received all his money back.
‘I ended up getting a full refund from the bank,’ Mr Shaw said.
‘I got my money back, the scammer got their money and it was like a win-win for both of us.’
Asher Shaw said he went to bed after having beers at FINNS Beach Club
Mr Shaw said moving forward, he would keep his money in multiple bank accounts when travelling overseas.
‘Don’t put $20,000 on one card,’ he said.
‘Have it in a separate bank account.’
A couple of Aussies sympathised with him.
‘I understand you mate, same happened to me,’ one wrote.
‘That would have been super stressful,’ another wrote.
Others laid the blame on Mr Shaw, saying he should have done his research before travelling.
‘You must be the only person who didn’t know that,’ one said.
‘That’s actually on you,’ a second said.
‘You should never allow anyone to take more than $1,000 out of your account within a 24-hour period.’
Smartraveller shared some advice on how tourists could avoid falling victim to scammers.
Tourists were urged to not allow ‘a shop assistant to take your card out of sight or swipe it in a second machine’.
It recommends to ‘pay with a cheque or cash’ and ‘only using official ATMs in a bank’.