In The News: Did CBA Lose $90k or WTF Is Happening?

bargain huntress on 06/09/2023 - 17:44
Last edited 11/09/2023 - 22:52 by 1 other user

TL;DR
Young couple reckon they have lost $90k.
Commbank reckon they never had $90k.
Couple have statements and screenshots.
Commbank say the numbers don't match their records.

Audio:

4th September

‘No answers’: Major bank bungle leaves a young couple $90k out of pocket

5th September

Neil Mitchell provides update on Commonwealth Bank debacle involving young couple

Video:

5th? September

Young Melbourne couple mysteriously lose almost $100,000 in savings after buying dream home

Text:

4th September

Commonwealth Bank blunder: Victorian couple lose $90,000 before bank sends link to suicide helpline

5th September

Commonwealth Bank of Australia hits back after redacted claimed bank lost $90,000 life savings

Couple claim they've lost nearly $100,000 after savings 'mysteriously disappear' from bank account

6th September

The four questions that need to be answered about Commonwealth Bank 'missing $90,000' mystery

Commonwealth Bank have spoken out after a Melbourne couple claimed they lost $90,000

7th September

New claim surfaces after couple claim CBA lost $90k of savings

New claim surfaces after couple claim CBA lost $90k of savings

Commonwealth Bank couple's 'missing $90K': Family of Melbourne pair hit out over bank record debacle

New claim surfaces after couple claim CBA lost $90k of savings

8th September

Commonwealth Bank mystery $90k: How young couple's campaign for answers about what happened badly backfired - as loved ones share their theory about what happened

9th September

Commonwealth Bank mystery $90k: How young couple's campaign for answers about what happened badly backfired - as loved ones share their theory about what happened

Mental health concerns for couple who lost $90k after media campaign backfires

Financial

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Comments

    • boomramada on 06/09/2023 - 19:17
      +3

      Yeah something fishy going on here. I thought they try to transfer money to another bank twice then money went kaboom.

    • Indie on 06/09/2023 - 19:26

      Does it seem unusual for a bank to release transaction information of a customers account? Surely this would not be done by the CBA unless they know the customer has no legitimate claim?

      • bargain huntress on 12/09/2023 - 11:40

        They were asked to sign a form letting them.

    • emblurr on 06/09/2023 - 19:42
      +8

      I have a Netbank saver account myself. This is the error message you get when trying to send money to an external account.

      Something went wrong.
      You can only transfer between a NetBank Saver and its linked transaction account.

      • Pikaloo on 09/09/2023 - 12:01
        +11

        Don't try it twice, you might lose your money.

    • AuQld on 10/09/2023 - 15:37

      A screenshot is not really proof of anything, there would be transfers into the account and if there's none out well wtf, shouldn't be that hard to do some forensic accounting.

  • Davo1111 on 06/09/2023 - 19:44
    +10

    Start legal proceedings against the bank if it's real.

    I wouldnt trust DailyMail or 3aw as an accurate source.

    • bargain huntress on 12/09/2023 - 16:54

      What about channel 7, the herald sun, the chronicle, and news.com.au?

  • c64 on 06/09/2023 - 20:14
    +8

    surely there is a paper trail - transactions, statements, etc. why is it so hard to verify if the money existed and where it went

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 07/09/2023 - 08:18
      +2

      It was all lost in the mysterious data hack and fire that destroyed all copies of statements

      Bank: can you elaborate..?

      Them: no…it was mysterious?

    • bargain huntress on 06/09/2023 - 22:10
      +4

      Why did you link to an article already linked to in the original post?

      • donga100 on 07/09/2023 - 17:14
        +5

        Didn't mean to offend. My link is to the image that shows the detailed response from CBA. The article didn't focus on it enough in my opinion. It focused too much on the blatantly false story given by the customers.

        • bargain huntress on 07/09/2023 - 20:26
          +3

          Oh thanks for explaining! Sorry i didnt understand in the first place.

  • miwahni on 06/09/2023 - 21:49
    +22

    If this isn't genuine, they're playing a very dangerous game. If CBA loses and AFCA instructs them to remediate, then CBA is out by $90k which is a pittance to the bank. But if the customers lose they'll be blacklisted for fraud which can have lasting repercussions. Why would you try it on for such a paltry amount?
    And you'd think that if there was a chance that CBA really did lose the money, then they would make a goodwill gesture towards the couple. The fact that the bank is standing its ground makes me think they're sure of their footing.
    Prepared to be wrong. I will watch this one with interest!

    • lachhelix on 07/09/2023 - 02:47
      +5

      Exactly right, how dumb do you have to be to try and defraud a bank?!?

      • Ughhh on 07/09/2023 - 12:40
        +5

        And make it public too.

        • Sweet3st on 07/09/2023 - 14:54
          +3

          And make a complaint to the AFCA?

        • Freestyle on 08/09/2023 - 17:06
          +4

          They make it public in an attempt to get the online crusaders on their side since people love to hate big companies

  • webtonmoy on 06/09/2023 - 23:21
    +14

    I can't believe the story.

    1. You cannot transfer money to an external account from a Netbank saver account.
    2. You cannot make a transaction higher than 20000$ in a day without discussing it with the bank first.
    • Baghern on 08/09/2023 - 16:37

      1 correct
      2 no, you just change the limit on your phone app max 100k

      • leeroys_dad on 08/09/2023 - 17:00
        -3

        Also if you transfer from Mobile and desktop at the same time (maybe anytime?) You can double the max limit

      • gromit on 08/09/2023 - 21:16
        +9

        Cant change on phone to 100k. Max is 20k with cba unless you call them. Just went through this with cba for land purchase.

      • webtonmoy on 09/09/2023 - 13:52
        +1

        @Baghern, Last time I needed, from the app, I could only make the limit 20000$. I visited a branch to make the limit 100K, and they checked my ID before they did so.

        • dione on 09/09/2023 - 20:34
          +2

          I usually call them to increase the limit, no need to visit the branch

          • webtonmoy on 10/09/2023 - 23:01

            @dione: Probably no need to visit. However, there is a branch near my office and it was easier to go there for me.

        • twotwotwo on 10/09/2023 - 08:46
          +2

          I upped xfer to 100k by calling them, standard verification over the phone.

    • ak47wong on 09/09/2023 - 23:52
      +1

      They weren't fake

      • hasher22 on 10/09/2023 - 00:29
        -7

        "only a few instances were believed by authorities to be associated with the original event with most other instances believed to multiple hoax or 'copycat' events."

        Did I lie?

        • SpainKing on 10/09/2023 - 12:52
          +3

          Yeah a little bit, they weren't fake needles like your original post says. They were real needles that would really hurt your mouth

  • WreckTangle on 07/09/2023 - 07:42
    +3

    Why didnt they transfer a small amount first to make sure everything was working. Isn't that standard practice?

    • MorriJ on 09/09/2023 - 22:14
      +6

      Not much the young couple have said seems to add up.

      “Our money bounced back into our CBA account because both our names weren’t approved yet on the Bank of Melbourne account,” she said.

      I regularly have to transfer money to my ex-partners accounts and I always put the account name as something like "The Grinch" or "Gold Digger" and it's never bounced. I'm with the Commonwealth as well - the name isn't checked on a transfer to my knowledge and is indicated on the transfer page.

      I suspect one of them has spent the money over time or alternatively the money never existed.

  • reactor-au on 07/09/2023 - 08:25
    +3

    Surely they would have statements from the accounts they sent from to deposit into this suspicious account? I'd start there

  • c64 on 07/09/2023 - 08:31
    +5

    possibly scammers were involved and they were interacting with malware or a fake banking app. who knows

    • McSquintus on 11/09/2023 - 09:42

      From the article:
      "The account in question (or any other account held Mr Murphy) did not have a balance of $96,000 (or an amount close to it) at the time of the relevant transfers or the 12 months prior."

      Wonder how they could have been scammed if they never had the money in the first place though.

  • Speckled Jim on 07/09/2023 - 10:59
    +2

    At least they're not abducting school kids off the street for tech gear!
    Wassap Melbourne?

  • 2esc on 07/09/2023 - 11:24
    +5

    It takes years to save that much money if genuine there would be other evidence in past statements. Also how was that money deposited over time? One lump sum from where? Small amounts out of weekly wage? There would be records from where it came from into that account.

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 07/09/2023 - 14:04
      +10

      it uh..it was the mega jackpot on the pokies..which pokies? oh..the one 2 towns over…

  • marketingpolice on 07/09/2023 - 13:33
    +3

    I have worked for a bank for a very long time including in high level ombudsman cases with disputes over hundreds of thousands. there is a lot more to the story than we must have been told. Bank's don't just mysteriously 'lose' funds. Will be interesting to see outcome.

  • matbargain on 07/09/2023 - 17:55
    +2

    They’re scammers

  • Indie on 07/09/2023 - 18:24
    +1

    Update to the news.com.au story:

    "Ms Houston’s sister, Tori Lancaster, has since raised a new argument in favour of the couple in response to somebody questioning the couple’s version of events on a local Facebook group.

    She claimed there was no record of the account containing the money because it was deleted swiftly after the large sum was removed.

    “It’s as simple as this, the money was in their account as per the transaction records. The money has been taken and the account deleted, gone, can’t see it,” she told the social media critic.

    “Which is why their receipts and statements don’t line up with Commonwealth Bank. There has been no foul play and they have been working their a***s off for years.”"

    • miwahni on 07/09/2023 - 20:11
      +17

      ….except that banks have to keep records for a number of years, they don't just delete their own records if an account is closed. This is getting stinkier….

      • soundofz on 07/09/2023 - 20:45

        What if highly intelligent criminals manage to secure employment at a bank and manipulate customers into making mistakes? In such cases, it becomes imperative to conduct a third-party investigation. It's challenging to completely trust both the couple involved and the bank itself because I believe there may be situations in the future where criminals attempt to infiltrate banks, drain accounts, and erase any evidence.

        • bargain huntress on 08/09/2023 - 16:35
          +3

          I think if i was really in their position i would now go to the police, and the AFP.

          If its real there has to be a decent chance something criminal is happening.

          Plus willingness to go them should be evidence THAT I AM NOT the criminal.

          And it might give CBA more motivation to get to the bottom of it.

          Of course if this isnt real then they would be insane to do that.

          It was also be a good test for the other one if only one of them has done it.

          If you know you havent done it, and your partner swears they havent, but wont go to the police - alarm bells!

        • OzBarAnon on 09/09/2023 - 00:49
          +5

          Having worked at a telco and dealt with customer accounts in the past, all actions done to accounts are recorded automatically by the system, including who is doing it. I imagine a bank would be even more fastidious in their security and auditing. So if a criminal managed to get into a banking job with the access to remove accounts, unless they also have access to the system that does the tracking of actions, they'd be caught red handed. Now, getting access to and manipulating that system would be even more difficult, because these systems are very complex, and you don't just hit an off button to obscure your one action.

        • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 11/09/2023 - 18:32
          +1

          What if highly intelligent criminals manage to secure employment at a bank

          For 90k tho?

      • slimdusty on 08/09/2023 - 18:03
        +2

        Indeed, plus they could have downloaded electronic copies of the bank statements in the past, in which case they can just produce that to the bank, and if they are genuine, but still doesn't match the bank's record, they would have to figure out why. I'll be following this :-).

        • soundofz on 09/09/2023 - 00:00
          +1

          If a bank worker is a criminal and they delete any proof about this account, it won't be useful because everything will seem changed or not real.

          • slimdusty on 12/09/2023 - 16:54

            @soundofz: Very true. However, if they are able to produce those previous statements, and there is no identifiable difference between those statements and the genuine statements Commonwealth Bank normally issue to their customers, then what you suggest should be considered as a reason that could explain the discrepancy by the bank and prompt an investigation. If those statements can be identified as fake by inspection, then there is no need to investigate, as they can be dismissed as frauds.

    • dm02 on 07/09/2023 - 22:26
      +5

      If the accounts were Netbank Savers, it is literally not possible to transfer funds straight out to another bank. The whole family is in on the scam

    • Freestyle on 08/09/2023 - 17:09

      they are 21, 'working their a**s off for years' lmao, yeah sure, so never got educated but found a magical job that got them 90k saved in 4 years

      • CommuterPolluter on 08/09/2023 - 22:58
        +8

        $90,000 / 2 pax / 4 years = $11,250 per person per year. I think Maccas would net you that.

      • DiscountForThee on 11/09/2023 - 08:15
        +1

        You must be really bad at saving if you think that amount is in the realms of magic lol

        • Freestyle on 11/09/2023 - 09:21

          really bad at saving because i dont believe a couple of kids managed to saved up big amounts of money when most of them here waste money at every turn?

          Yeah sure whatever you say, you probably believe every crazy person online

          • DiscountForThee on 11/09/2023 - 09:47

            @Freestyle: Every young person in existence is obligated to spend every cent they make. You're not legally permitted to put any money into a savings account until you are over the age of 25 and have an office job. How could I forget this universal constant? Silly of me to think that this could ever not be the case! Genius-level logic, you got me there

            • Freestyle on 11/09/2023 - 09:51

              @DiscountForThee: Good for them and every bank is there scamming everyone and taking their hard earned money

              we must riot

              • DiscountForThee on 11/09/2023 - 09:53

                @Freestyle: Not saying I believe their story about the bank stealing their money, it seems full of holes haha

                But it is very manageable (or even easy, depending on circumstances) to save that much money on that kind of job - not magic :)

                • Freestyle on 11/09/2023 - 09:58

                  @DiscountForThee: and I never said it was hard to save but their story is not believable as you said without receipts because its not common

    • smartazz104 on 08/09/2023 - 19:06

      Oh the account was conveniently deleted, doesn't sound sus at all.

    • bargain huntress on 11/09/2023 - 19:04

      Youre not wrong

      Im not sure they should just get a free pass with a good will payment though

      If hypothetically one did have a gambling addiction, he needs to face it and the consequences to get better, a good will payment will just enable him longer

  • danielt25 on 08/09/2023 - 06:38
    +2

    You would think that it's pretty clear what the transactions are when logged into netbank.

  • danielt25 on 08/09/2023 - 06:39
    +1

    Cumulative balance would be easy to see, so I'm not sure why the two sides have such differing claims

    • ihbh on 10/09/2023 - 19:00
      +3

      Not just that, but $90k would earn at least some interest. The ATO would have automatic links from this to their tax return. Print this out and show us pls or I call BS.

  • Sweet3st on 08/09/2023 - 09:07
    +2

    I read somewhere that a relative had posted on FB that the original account had been deleted, had 'completely disappeared'. That the details don't match existing account because original is 'gone'. Mysterious…

    • joelmuzz on 08/09/2023 - 16:35
      +4

      Regardless, the system wont let you transfer a Netbank saver to any account other than the paired transaction account, the the story about transfers to another bank bouncing is impossible on CBA system. The website and app dont even give you an account selection for Netbank saver screen, it simply moves cash to your own Transacion account.

      Either they have a fake story.
      Or they are the victims of a fake app/portal scam and have been depositing into a spoofed site. Which delayed exposure with two claims of bounced transfer and then knowing the scam was up toggled them back to the real CBA portal.

    • Freestyle on 08/09/2023 - 17:10

      yes martians took their money, there's no way they are lying

  • Jaduqimon on 08/09/2023 - 11:02
    +8

    I highly doubt CBA is at fault here. their systems are robust with backup of backups and will definitely have records of all transactions even if it was "deleted".

    • Sprayoz on 08/09/2023 - 15:16
      +4

      True, that's how the modern databases work. Even one entry was deleted, it was just marked as deleted, and is still recoded in the db.

  • wetsandwich on 08/09/2023 - 12:52
    +18

    Seems a lot like they're just blatantly lying and getting caught out. So dumb they didn't realise the technicality of a savings account not even letting them do what they claimed to do.

    Sounds like the girl was giving the money to the guy to deposit, he never did, and now has to make a fake trail to cover up his gambling losses. And unfortunately defrauding the CBA is very unlikely to work.

  • dlakers3peat on 08/09/2023 - 15:18
    +5

    Everyone saying bank systems are robust and their would be a paper trail etc is something I would normally agree with until my personal experience with another large bank, westpac.

    Long story short, paid $6k in cash at a branch to pay off a personal loan. A few months later I receive a letter saying my account is in arrears. Told them I paid. They said no you didnt. Made a complaint. Investigated and and they still said no payment found. Showed them the receipt and they then closed the case with no explanation as to how they did not record this payment against my loan account.

    • braddsey on 08/09/2023 - 15:48
      +3

      Assuming they found in your favour, most likely point of failure is human error at the point of your transaction. It could be computer error - but they’re not going to find that amongst the millions of transactions that occur.
      Regardless, once you provided your receipt they had a reference point for their investigation to validate against (the start of the paper trail). Prior to that you’re just some random claiming you gave them cash with no evidence to back your story.

    • bargain huntress on 08/09/2023 - 15:48

      That is an important story!

      Have you made a complaint to the AFCA? If not could you please do so?

      • nwa on 08/09/2023 - 16:35
        +2

        there nothing to complain about they got their money back.

        • AssociatedBrianqpr @ Commonwealth Bank on 09/09/2023 - 13:46
          +2

          AFCA can still award "non financial loss" due to inconvenience, stress etc. They give this to totally undeserving complainants all the time.

          But if an agreement has been signed it may be too late for that. Also you can't go to them if more than two years since the complaint was responded to.

    • EvoQuattro on 08/09/2023 - 17:07
      +2

      Different case - As braddsey mentioned, most likely human error - Maybe deposited into the wrong account?

      In this case, records that were there, don't just vanish.

    • jayzee on 08/09/2023 - 17:38
      +3

      should have checked the your bank record after deposit large amount of money asap.

    • GuitarXXX on 12/09/2023 - 14:18

      Your case is less likely a "missing" money in this CBA case, more likely a mismatched payment and debt.

    • Aarchangel on 13/09/2023 - 07:54

      You didn't notice your personal loan wasn't still paid off for a few months until you received the letter?

  • FlyingMiffy on 08/09/2023 - 15:21
    +5

    Dailymail news… right

    • bargain huntress on 12/09/2023 - 16:55

      What about seven, herald sun, chronicle, newscomau?

  • mrvaluepack on 08/09/2023 - 15:23
    +8

    My trust is with a $168B cap bank rather than on 2 randoms who can't even be bothered making sure everything was settled and transferred before going on holiday.

  • braddsey on 08/09/2023 - 15:41
    +8

    This seems fairly straightforward… CBA provide a complete transaction listing of the account. This shows where and how the account balance built to $90K (or did not build, whatever the case may be).
    If the couple still dispute it, they provide where the $90K came from in the first place. If they had $90k in the account then banking records from other banks/accounts showing the funds going in must exist.

  • xsacha on 08/09/2023 - 16:18
    +3

    Is it possible that the couple were using a fake CBA app from Play Store that shows them fake details?

    • bargain huntress on 08/09/2023 - 16:27
      +1

      Ive been wondering the same thing. I was also think if it is a spoof app then surely more people will start coming forward with the same problem very soon?

    • umoddbro on 09/09/2023 - 16:12
      +26

      Yes I believe the app is called sportsbet… Husband unknowingly deposited every week into instead of the CBA one.

  • Aerith-Waifu on 08/09/2023 - 16:23
    +4

    Don't believe a word they say. I mean the couple.

    You just can't transfer that big amount in one go as far as I know.

    • gromit on 08/09/2023 - 21:22
      +1

      Well you can, but most banks require you to contact them to increase daily limit, eg increased my daily limit to 200k in june for property purchase. Bank down to 10k the following week.

    • brendanm on 10/09/2023 - 22:32

      Of course you can.

  • EvoQuattro on 08/09/2023 - 17:03
    +19

    Don't really like banks, but i'm with CBA on this one.
    They claim it's "life savings", surely it's easy to prove their money accumulating over a certain period. The bank can't have just deleted every single one of their past transactions. The money would have had to come from somewhere and there would have been a trail. I.e. from employer to their nominated account and then they would be able to show the transaction into the savings account. If they were legit, that would be the first thing they should show - Not just a screenshot of a transaction..

    If the money was gifted from family, that would also be easy to show from the gifter side..

    • Willy Beamish on 08/09/2023 - 17:51
      +5

      the thing about scammers is they aren't smart enough to think of these things, they think if they make a big enough stink people will just give in.

  • joelmuzz on 08/09/2023 - 17:06
    +6

    Possibly all a cover act for faking a deposit with the other lender.
    I dont think anyone would expect to con a bank into refunding the $95k which was never there.

    It also doesnt seem likely that one partner knowing they had embezzled the savings would let things get as far as a property settlement before pretending to be shocked. They would sabotage things and spin a better cover story before it got that far.

    But I could see people faking their deposit to get a loan approval, and then being shocked that the lender didnt simply shrug it off and let the settlement happen regardless and now seller demanding settlement and keeping deposit and things getting quite nasty. So it becomes a story to try and save face, but the hole just keeps getting deeper.

    • bargain huntress on 11/09/2023 - 19:08

      What happens next if it is? They mentioned getting a bigger loan? But dont they still need a deposit?

      • joelmuzz on 12/09/2023 - 16:54
        +1

        Probably family/friends helped out, and maybe media paid something for the content.

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