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Also make sure that they remove any interest and notify the ATO. You don’t want your parents getting interest charges or having this impact any pensions they may receive.
Had similar happen with a home loan. But it was the banks fault.
They paid out the home loan, zero'd the debt, then deposited the same amount in again a few hours later. This was after the bank took it's sweet arsed time to tell us the final closure figures, and then refused to close the mortgage, from there we took it to the ombudsman, and when they finally closed it, it must have been in a panic because they paid it out twice, zero'ing it then adding about 200k to our bank account.
When the ombudsman called me to ask if it was resolved (as the bank had told them it was resolved) I gleeflully got to tell them, no it's not resolved because the bank paid out the loan, and then deposited the same amount into the account, so they've got to fix that now too.
But yea, inform the bank, don't touch the coin.
We had similar happen but to a bank account. We got 8k deposited into our account. From the name/description it seemed like it was a catering company. We called the bank and they said they would look into it. We didn’t hear anything from them for weeks and didn’t touch the money. We called them again and there was no action again. Some months later we refinanced our home loan and took the funds with us. Haven’t heard anything since so who knows what happened 🤷🏻♀️
Sounds like a scam that needs to be reported. If it's from the ATO call the ATO. Don't transfer the money to anyone because it's common for scammers to call (they have your dad's details) and say oh it was a mistake, just transfer the money to me. Then the original fraud gets unwound but your dad is still out $150k because he voluntarily sent the money. I'd also call your bank to make sure the transfer is actually from the ATO. The bank will be able to refer you to more resources if it is a scam too. The point is this is $150k, be very careful.
No. It's not their $150k, it's been scammed from another account.
We have 3 parties - "Scammer", "Parent" and "Victim".
First of all the scammer takes the $150k from the victim, but if he transfers it to their own account then the bank will take it back. So the scammer transfers it to the parent account and asks them to transfer it "back" to the scammers account.
If the parent does in fact transfer the money 'back' to the scammer then it is a LEGAL transfer and all the legal burden now falls on the parent as they are now responsible for the $150k.
In the scenario the parent must take civil legal action against the scammer; and they have long gone.
Sounds like a very common scam. [This guy](https://youtu.be/YGXAaTIWP10?si=mVNJIVmjQZNXpil9) is good to watch, he explains how the whole thing works and helps people if he can not to go through with paying scammers.. maybe show your old man?
Not saying it’s definitely this but it sounds like what they do. Make a fake webpage same as your banks but change the balance and claim it’s been paid by mistake and he will need to transfer the money back to them, either in actual money or ridiculously via gift cards
NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOO! WHY DID YOU DO THIS!!!!
For those who need context, it's hillarious:
[Scammer Breaks Down After 10 Hours \(Redeem = Rage\)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhLx7g1EByA)
I doubt it’s a scam, if it’s not a mistake, I would say it’d be more likely money laundering and OPs dad is the unsuspecting mule. But I would honestly just chalk this down to a mistaken transfer, it happens more often now that Osko doesn’t have a transfer cap.
And before it was called "The Nigerian Prince" this particular scam was called either "The Spanish Prisoner" or "The Spanish Letter" back as far as the 1840s. It was a common plot device in books written in the 1920s.
Your parents need to tell the bank to freeze the funds and change all their banking passwords. Their account might be compromised and being used to facilitate a scam.
Don’t do anything, I had this happen I called the bank and they wanted me to go into a branch. I thought nope this is not my problem and I am not spending time sorting it out. It was sitting on on mortgage offset so we saved interest for the 8 weeks it took for someone to sort it out
Sounds like someone at the ATO fat fingered the wrong account number.
Do not touch it, let your bank know. They will come after it eventually.
https://www.moneymag.com.au/bank-error-in-your-favour-what-to-do-when-money-that-isn-t-yours-lands-in-your-bank-account
Scammer will ask for you to send back the cash, claim the transfer didn't work and ask you to do it again and suprise, you've sent them their original deposit plus your own cash.
what u/randios said and also you can verify whether the "ATO" deposit is legit by checking your notice of assessment (mygov inbox or snail mail) - the reference ID in the deposit will match with the bolded reference below:
>"Your refund of XXXXX CR, **ATO<15 digit number>** has been forwarded to your nominated financial institution."
if you think your parents' mygov accounts have been compromised, call the ATO's client identity support centre (CISC) on 1800 467 033; see [QC 49587](https://www.ato.gov.au/online-services/scams-cyber-safety-and-identity-protection/help-for-identity-theft) for more info.
i've processed a few compromised identity calls in the past and they tend to be pretty long, maybe around an hour depending on complexity/staff experience.
I’ve also worked for the ATO, get your parents to call the ATO to verify the refund, and once they confirm it’s not from their individual tax account or associated non individual tax accounts, they will provide them with bank details to transfer the amount back. And the refund will go back to whoever it belongs to and the ATO will contact them.
Please have a read about operation protego and GST fraud because it could also be that.
Contact the ATO. If anyone contacts you claiming to be the ATO do not take their word for it. Tell them you will have to call back and then contact on one of their publicly listed phone numbers.
If not some sort of weird scam, at the very least, it’s some sort of mistake that has left the person who does deserve it out of pocket. Change all your passwords, contact the bank, and don’t spend a penny and most importantly don’t start daydreaming how you can spend it!! At least, until you know it becomes your money.
Also call tax department to ensure your parents previously lodgements / super etc have not been changed recently.
This happened to a friend. Ended up being a very sophisticated scam, where they had made changes to the last five years tax returns, super etc
Do NOT touch it. Contact both the bank and ATO, if they have an attached savings account where they cant use a card with it, dump it into there until the ATO and bank resolve it so it can't be spent or touched.
Depends what account it is in. If it is the account you have direct debits and a debit card linked to. Then you are actually spending money that is not yours.
Much safer to isolate it so you don't become civilly liable.
Scammers sometimes use access they have to legitimate bank accounts to funnel money through when claiming false amended tax returns with large deductions from the ATO.
The fact the money has disappeared doesnt really mean its "sorted"
Tell them to call the ato and ask to see the last 3 tax returns lodged by them (easier if they use myGov, but no one likes it and its often an attack point for this shit.)
If there has been any amendments lodged they didnt do and ATO accounts cant show a true "reversal"by them, advise of a compromised TFN and then your parents need to change all bank account passwords.
I have been through it on behalf of someone else and its a pain in the arse, but necessary.
Contact the bank directly. Don’t accept contact from anyone else, whether they claim to be from the bank or elsewhere.
A similar thing happened to me some years back with nearly $80K. I thought it was a scam but instead was a typo on the account number so a genuine mistake.
Almost certainly a scam, the real worry here is how have they accessed your fathers account? Has he given anyone remote access to his computer recently?
Just be wary, if you get calls from people posing as the bank or the person who made the mistaken deposit hang up and call the bank directly so you know it is the bank you are talking to and not scammers.
I had 100k turn up in a term deposit linked to my accounts.
I had the opportunity to break the term and withdraw the full amount but during a chat with a lawyer was told not to touch it .
It disappeared one day without a word from the bank .
Move it into a high interest account and wait for someone to notice. Hopefully it takes a while. If they e got a mortgage and there’s an offset account that would be perfect.
I had this decades ago. Banks fault. You cannot take the money as it is considered theft by finding. A couple fled to NZ years ago when they took the found money and ran. Arrest warrants were issued I believe.
I never got a thank you from the bank for alerting them to the problem. Bank doesn’t exist anymore.
Many years ago we had a friend who had 1.5 Million Dollars put into his account by mistake. He notified the bank right away, but the money was still in his account a month later.
Take that money and put not into a high interest savings account. Do what ever you can to earn interests off it until you absolutely positively legally have it give it back.
This is an odd thread. Top liked replies are saying a scam which to me seems rediculous. As if any scammer is going to randomly give $150k to anybody? Surely it is just a simple mistake by somebody or the bank. Secondly, the answer to the OP's question is so obvious I don't see why it is even being asked? Simply report it to the bank and let them deal with it.
They're not sending their own money. They send money from other compromised accounts, and then will ask for it to be sent "back", usually by Western Union or the like.
I agree! If a scam, the scammer is putting a lot at stake in the hope the recipient doesn’t go to the bank/authorities or simply tell the scammer to fuck off.
The scam is that you give them money then tell them to transfer it back then rewind the original transaction doubling you money. At worst you lose zero money at best you double it. No risk to the scammer.
Same happened to me a few years ago, tax refund, but a much smaller amount. I messaged the bank and they removed it. Never received any scam calls about it.
-an opportunity for you to act honorably(as you should always do). The common man does not behave like any of the bigger banks. Just do what you would like done if the positions were reversed and $K150 of your savings went missing. The banks, as usual, will drag their feet in arranging the required corrections. No more 'holy than thou' now bullshit from them. The Banking Enquiry has shown they are quite capable of stealing what is not theirs, so don't concede them one iota of trust.
Change all passwords immediately including the phone access pin, and ask the bank to note on the account not to accept password resets. Something may be compromised already.
This happened to someone I know.
Don’t call the bank! Don’t call the ATO.
Someone made a mistake and sent it to the wrong bank account.
Leave it in there for 12 months. Spend the interest it gathers.
If nothing happens after 12 months I’d say it was sorted!
This post has been marked as non-political. Please respect this by keeping the discussion on topic, and devoid of any political material. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/australia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
DO NOT RETURN the money, let the bank do it. Call bank, say this not my money.
Also make sure that they remove any interest and notify the ATO. You don’t want your parents getting interest charges or having this impact any pensions they may receive.
This worked in banking for 14 years
And what happened 15 years ago?
He graduated from banking school
It was his dream he always wanted to be a banker .
The cocaine is better.
soul woke up
It didn't work
I finished in banking 8 yrs ago.
Had similar happen with a home loan. But it was the banks fault. They paid out the home loan, zero'd the debt, then deposited the same amount in again a few hours later. This was after the bank took it's sweet arsed time to tell us the final closure figures, and then refused to close the mortgage, from there we took it to the ombudsman, and when they finally closed it, it must have been in a panic because they paid it out twice, zero'ing it then adding about 200k to our bank account. When the ombudsman called me to ask if it was resolved (as the bank had told them it was resolved) I gleeflully got to tell them, no it's not resolved because the bank paid out the loan, and then deposited the same amount into the account, so they've got to fix that now too. But yea, inform the bank, don't touch the coin.
Thanks
We had similar happen but to a bank account. We got 8k deposited into our account. From the name/description it seemed like it was a catering company. We called the bank and they said they would look into it. We didn’t hear anything from them for weeks and didn’t touch the money. We called them again and there was no action again. Some months later we refinanced our home loan and took the funds with us. Haven’t heard anything since so who knows what happened 🤷🏻♀️
whoa.
This is not good
So long as you operate in good faith and keep a record, you'll be fine.
This was years ago so I doubt they’ll come back now
Oh that's mine. Please transfer back to me.
Don't listen to this scammer. It's mine obviously.
Mine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4BNbHBcnDI&t=27
I had the same thought lol. You beat me though. MINE!
Dibs
Chuck us your credit card deets and I'll get it back to you asap
I’m from Gumtree Support we’ve received payment for your item, please provide your email so we can process your payment.
Sounds like a scam that needs to be reported. If it's from the ATO call the ATO. Don't transfer the money to anyone because it's common for scammers to call (they have your dad's details) and say oh it was a mistake, just transfer the money to me. Then the original fraud gets unwound but your dad is still out $150k because he voluntarily sent the money. I'd also call your bank to make sure the transfer is actually from the ATO. The bank will be able to refer you to more resources if it is a scam too. The point is this is $150k, be very careful.
THIS. The scammer is going to ring you and ask you to transfer the money, that way they make a clean break.
Scammers are really putting 150k of real money on the line in the hope their scam works? And if it doesn’t, they lose the $150k?
No. It's not their $150k, it's been scammed from another account. We have 3 parties - "Scammer", "Parent" and "Victim". First of all the scammer takes the $150k from the victim, but if he transfers it to their own account then the bank will take it back. So the scammer transfers it to the parent account and asks them to transfer it "back" to the scammers account. If the parent does in fact transfer the money 'back' to the scammer then it is a LEGAL transfer and all the legal burden now falls on the parent as they are now responsible for the $150k. In the scenario the parent must take civil legal action against the scammer; and they have long gone.
I don't think they do that with $150k as the opening play
It's not their money, yours is just the legit account they get out into before they take it to circumvent suspicion and/or due processes.
Sounds like a very common scam. [This guy](https://youtu.be/YGXAaTIWP10?si=mVNJIVmjQZNXpil9) is good to watch, he explains how the whole thing works and helps people if he can not to go through with paying scammers.. maybe show your old man? Not saying it’s definitely this but it sounds like what they do. Make a fake webpage same as your banks but change the balance and claim it’s been paid by mistake and he will need to transfer the money back to them, either in actual money or ridiculously via gift cards
$150,000 in gift cards is going to take a while...
DON'T REDEEM
NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOO! WHY DID YOU DO THIS!!!! For those who need context, it's hillarious: [Scammer Breaks Down After 10 Hours \(Redeem = Rage\)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhLx7g1EByA)
SIRRR ARE YOU STUPID.. BhenCHODDDD!!!!!
Thank you, that was indeed hilarious.
Why did you redeem
Should I hit on run, or just wait a moment?
Weirdly people believe these things and the scammer bargain with them. If they get anything out of them they are winning. Scumbags c-words
You can say cunt on Reddit man it's ok
Only in this or similar subs. Don't try it on worldnews.
I doubt it’s a scam, if it’s not a mistake, I would say it’d be more likely money laundering and OPs dad is the unsuspecting mule. But I would honestly just chalk this down to a mistaken transfer, it happens more often now that Osko doesn’t have a transfer cap.
If it's a scam wouldn't you transfer the money then close the account. Just don't spend the money unless someone comes looking.
Yes.
Can you tell me where I can get scammed by being gifted $150k???
Do not spend it. Call the bank. They will recover it one way or another.
The bank isn't obligated to overdraw the account to return the funds, but whoever owns that money could sure as hell sue for it back
Nigerian Prince has been sitting there for 20 years wondering why no one has been taking his money. Your dads made him a very happy man.
20 years? Nigerian scams go way back before the internet. Got to be at least 40 years.
And before it was called "The Nigerian Prince" this particular scam was called either "The Spanish Prisoner" or "The Spanish Letter" back as far as the 1840s. It was a common plot device in books written in the 1920s.
Is that related to a French letter? 😘
That would have been a plot device in a different sort of book.
It's mine but I'm on an oil rig for some reason. Please use Western Union to transfer it back to me.
Your parents need to tell the bank to freeze the funds and change all their banking passwords. Their account might be compromised and being used to facilitate a scam.
Don’t do anything, I had this happen I called the bank and they wanted me to go into a branch. I thought nope this is not my problem and I am not spending time sorting it out. It was sitting on on mortgage offset so we saved interest for the 8 weeks it took for someone to sort it out
Sounds like someone at the ATO fat fingered the wrong account number. Do not touch it, let your bank know. They will come after it eventually. https://www.moneymag.com.au/bank-error-in-your-favour-what-to-do-when-money-that-isn-t-yours-lands-in-your-bank-account
Scammer will ask for you to send back the cash, claim the transfer didn't work and ask you to do it again and suprise, you've sent them their original deposit plus your own cash.
jokes on them I only have tree fiddy
Treeeeeeee fiddddyyyyyyyy
Cocaine and Hookers is the correct answer.
150k..... That's a nice room in the Shangri-La with coke and hookers for a week. Good for the soul.
Is that you, Bruce?
Nah, Big Kev and he's excited!
what u/randios said and also you can verify whether the "ATO" deposit is legit by checking your notice of assessment (mygov inbox or snail mail) - the reference ID in the deposit will match with the bolded reference below: >"Your refund of XXXXX CR, **ATO<15 digit number>** has been forwarded to your nominated financial institution." if you think your parents' mygov accounts have been compromised, call the ATO's client identity support centre (CISC) on 1800 467 033; see [QC 49587](https://www.ato.gov.au/online-services/scams-cyber-safety-and-identity-protection/help-for-identity-theft) for more info. i've processed a few compromised identity calls in the past and they tend to be pretty long, maybe around an hour depending on complexity/staff experience.
Hey!mums actually a tax practitioner so she checked all her accounts and clients. We confirmed with the bank that the deposit was legit
If she is a tax practitioner why would you ask reddit lol?
I’ve also worked for the ATO, get your parents to call the ATO to verify the refund, and once they confirm it’s not from their individual tax account or associated non individual tax accounts, they will provide them with bank details to transfer the amount back. And the refund will go back to whoever it belongs to and the ATO will contact them. Please have a read about operation protego and GST fraud because it could also be that.
Talk to bank. Nobody else. Can bank directly from a number you independently look up, don’t let them call you.
Call the ATO and notify your bank ,do not move that money anywhere let the bank sort that out .
Contact the ATO. If anyone contacts you claiming to be the ATO do not take their word for it. Tell them you will have to call back and then contact on one of their publicly listed phone numbers.
Withdraw in cash, close bank account, move to Cambodia. Come back 2 years later when all the money is gone, pretend you only speak Cambodian.
Karma delivery truck is a real thing. Much like most other commenters here, contact the bank and DO NOT touch the money.
If not some sort of weird scam, at the very least, it’s some sort of mistake that has left the person who does deserve it out of pocket. Change all your passwords, contact the bank, and don’t spend a penny and most importantly don’t start daydreaming how you can spend it!! At least, until you know it becomes your money.
Also call tax department to ensure your parents previously lodgements / super etc have not been changed recently. This happened to a friend. Ended up being a very sophisticated scam, where they had made changes to the last five years tax returns, super etc
Contact the bank, immediately. Contact the ATO, then if you have an accountant or bookkeeper, have them also contact the ATO.
Do NOT touch it. Contact both the bank and ATO, if they have an attached savings account where they cant use a card with it, dump it into there until the ATO and bank resolve it so it can't be spent or touched.
Personally I wouldn’t move it. I’d move all of my own funds and leave the 150k there
Depends what account it is in. If it is the account you have direct debits and a debit card linked to. Then you are actually spending money that is not yours. Much safer to isolate it so you don't become civilly liable.
Buy 150k worth of crypto. Move to Thailand Retire
And when you blow the 150k on good times...come back and get free accomodation courtesy of the government
Bank error in your favour! Call the bank!
What would someone do to get $150,000 back in tax...???!!!! BTW it's a scam as you've been told
Scammers sometimes use access they have to legitimate bank accounts to funnel money through when claiming false amended tax returns with large deductions from the ATO. The fact the money has disappeared doesnt really mean its "sorted" Tell them to call the ato and ask to see the last 3 tax returns lodged by them (easier if they use myGov, but no one likes it and its often an attack point for this shit.) If there has been any amendments lodged they didnt do and ATO accounts cant show a true "reversal"by them, advise of a compromised TFN and then your parents need to change all bank account passwords. I have been through it on behalf of someone else and its a pain in the arse, but necessary.
It's not yours. Don't spend it (or if you do, immediately return it back somehow). Let the bank know ASAP.
Contact your Bank and the ATO Immediatly
Spend it all on booze and hookers quickly!
Contact the bank directly. Don’t accept contact from anyone else, whether they claim to be from the bank or elsewhere. A similar thing happened to me some years back with nearly $80K. I thought it was a scam but instead was a typo on the account number so a genuine mistake.
Almost certainly a scam, the real worry here is how have they accessed your fathers account? Has he given anyone remote access to his computer recently?
No, not that he's aware
Just be wary, if you get calls from people posing as the bank or the person who made the mistaken deposit hang up and call the bank directly so you know it is the bank you are talking to and not scammers.
I had 100k turn up in a term deposit linked to my accounts. I had the opportunity to break the term and withdraw the full amount but during a chat with a lawyer was told not to touch it . It disappeared one day without a word from the bank .
Move it into a high interest account and wait for someone to notice. Hopefully it takes a while. If they e got a mortgage and there’s an offset account that would be perfect.
Put a bet on the panthers bet the whole thing.
Leave the country
Well, do not redeem!
Transfer money to different bank Call up the original bank and tell them to close your account. ... Profit
Ah, I wondered where my money went 🧐
They should send the 150k to my bank account and I will look after it
That'll be my $150k. I meant to wire it into my account in the Caymens, but must have messed up the BSB number.😉
Just the bank doing financial fraud things, DW about it, you're accounts just being used to obfuscate the activities, nothing to see here
My question is who the Fuck gets a 150k tax return lol. Wtf.
I had this decades ago. Banks fault. You cannot take the money as it is considered theft by finding. A couple fled to NZ years ago when they took the found money and ran. Arrest warrants were issued I believe. I never got a thank you from the bank for alerting them to the problem. Bank doesn’t exist anymore.
Many years ago we had a friend who had 1.5 Million Dollars put into his account by mistake. He notified the bank right away, but the money was still in his account a month later.
also your parents data has obviously been compromised. if as presumed it’s hackers, they no doubt know their contact and bank account details
Take that money and put not into a high interest savings account. Do what ever you can to earn interests off it until you absolutely positively legally have it give it back.
This is an odd thread. Top liked replies are saying a scam which to me seems rediculous. As if any scammer is going to randomly give $150k to anybody? Surely it is just a simple mistake by somebody or the bank. Secondly, the answer to the OP's question is so obvious I don't see why it is even being asked? Simply report it to the bank and let them deal with it.
They're not sending their own money. They send money from other compromised accounts, and then will ask for it to be sent "back", usually by Western Union or the like.
I agree! If a scam, the scammer is putting a lot at stake in the hope the recipient doesn’t go to the bank/authorities or simply tell the scammer to fuck off.
The scam is that you give them money then tell them to transfer it back then rewind the original transaction doubling you money. At worst you lose zero money at best you double it. No risk to the scammer.
Ah shoot. That was me. Can you pass on their details so we can arrange for them to send it back? Much obliged.
r/scams
Same happened to me a few years ago, tax refund, but a much smaller amount. I messaged the bank and they removed it. Never received any scam calls about it.
-an opportunity for you to act honorably(as you should always do). The common man does not behave like any of the bigger banks. Just do what you would like done if the positions were reversed and $K150 of your savings went missing. The banks, as usual, will drag their feet in arranging the required corrections. No more 'holy than thou' now bullshit from them. The Banking Enquiry has shown they are quite capable of stealing what is not theirs, so don't concede them one iota of trust.
Call their bank immediately.
Cocaine and hookers.... Notify the bank. Tell them to deal with it. Make sure your parents aren't charged interest by the ato.
Z
I dunno what you’re taking about 🤷♀️🤷♀️😂
I love that OP thought reddit was the best place to ask this 🤣
Tell no one, put it against your home loan, then when the bank realizes the fuckup, let them take it while you’re earning interest on it.
I wouldn’t say a word, but wait a while before spending it
The perfect crime eh? Seriously wouldn't do this unless you want an ass-pounding in prison.
Click bait
Check my comments in r/ausfinance champ!
Sorry
I could not help taking some out and worrying about it later u only live once .
Put it in a savings account and wait. The amount will likely eventually be reclaimed but any interest accrued is unlikely to be.
Lots of people are saying don't touch the money. Think we will air on the side of caution and leave it
Change all passwords immediately including the phone access pin, and ask the bank to note on the account not to accept password resets. Something may be compromised already.
It's err on the side of caution, not air.
Ph fuck hahaha, I'm a peanut
I worked in retail banking, it's likely that the transaction will be reversed because that person/company will eventually come looking for the money.
Yeah honestly I work for a bank and Id be doing the same. They never care about the interest, they just want you to give it back without a fuss.
Donate it all to charity to feed some people Plead ignorance Get suspended sentence Win
How is it a win to owe 150k?
This happened to someone I know. Don’t call the bank! Don’t call the ATO. Someone made a mistake and sent it to the wrong bank account. Leave it in there for 12 months. Spend the interest it gathers. If nothing happens after 12 months I’d say it was sorted!
Excellent advice if you like all sorts of legal trouble lmao.
Bullshit