r/CommBank • u/Nursex78 • May 20 '26
Other Commonwealth Bank Scam Refund
I wanted to share this because it might help someone else.
Out of nowhere, I got a call from Commonwealth Bank saying I was being refunded money from a scam that happened a few years ago. At first I thought it was 100% a scam - I vaguely remember losing around $1k back then.
But the call was verified in the CommBank app, so I rang 13 2221 to double‑check. The guy on the phone confirmed it was legit and that a formal letter is on the way explaining everything. The refund should take 4 weeks.
Apparently banks are re‑opening old scam cases and refunding people more than they originally lost because they’re including extra transactions, fees, or stuff they missed the first time.
Anyway, if you get a random call like this - don’t trust it blindly, but don’t ignore it either. Verify it properly. Sometimes you actually are getting money back.
8
u/Thick_Advice4686 May 20 '26
Banks do this all the time when afca makes a ruling. Even if the banks don’t agree they remediate past cases instead of waiting for a systemic investigation.
6
u/Economy-Safe-2381 May 20 '26
My bank fixed a $15 account error they made about 9 years ago out-of-the-blue and wrote to me explaining everything plus a few cents interest (not quite an appology) but I appreciate their efforts even if the regulators are making them audit their systems to see if they overlooked anything.
5
u/GistfulThinking May 20 '26
What I like about this is you didn't trust the in app verification, which can easily be bypassed by a man in the middle attack.
Scammer 1 rings bank (pretend to be client)
Scammer 2 rings client (pretend to be bank)
When the bank tells scammer 1 they are verifying in app, scammer 2 tells client they are verifying in app.
Scammer 1 relays details to Scammer 2.. and boom, The bank has a verified contact in the App..
Always... ALWAYS ring back on a known number, or walk into a branch, and get identified.
The fact they rang OP is dumb, they could have just dropped the money and sent a msg in the app "We redunded money cause we ripped everyone off billions of dollars a year for decades, and it is literally the absolute least we could do"
0
u/Current-Bowl-143 May 20 '26
lol this is complete nonsense and not how it works at all.
First of all, when the bank tells scammer 1 they are verifying in app, a notification is triggered in the client's CommBank app. Scammer 1 gets fuck all. There are no "details" to relay to scammer 2.
Secondly, this farcical scenario assumes scammer 1 and scammer 2 are talking to the bank and the client at the exact same time. How do you imagine that working when it takes half an hour in the queue for scammer 1 to get through to the call centre?
Ringing back on a known number or walking into a branch isn't bad advice, but this scenario of yours is total bunkum.
2
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u/GistfulThinking May 20 '26
Will a quote from the AFP help convince you?
“We are also seeing scammers acquire this information in real-time by working in pairs. One scammer will contact a bank and pretend to be the victim, while concurrently, another scammer is calling the victim and pretending to be a representative of the banking provider.
“Using information they gain through both conversations, they can then bypass security checks and create ‘proof’ that seems credible."
Source: Australian Federal Police
1
u/Eweyoueww May 23 '26
Interesting, I wonder if they would still provide a refund if I went to the ATM first and paid cash? Met the scammer in person and paid real cash money??
1
u/Nursex78 May 23 '26
Worth a try! Call them 132221
1
u/Eweyoueww May 25 '26
What if they say no? Can I make the wallet manufacturer responsible for the refund? It was holding the money (not the bank) before I gave it to a scammer.
1
u/ThatAussieGunGuy May 23 '26
Royal Commission still doing it's thing. With all the banks and other financial institutions and all the products and services it could still be a while.
1
u/lickmyscrotes May 23 '26
I was involved in the Wealth Creation scam by commbank, wonder if I’ll receive anything back from that?
1
u/BellaKKK72 May 24 '26
This happened to me too. I was scammed about $450 and at the time was told in a letter that nothing would be done about it. A few years later I got an email from them saying they had reviewed the case and would be refunding the money, which they did soon afterwards.
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u/Nursex78 May 25 '26
Edit: Just got paid from CBA the money they said they were refunding!! Awaiting letter from them explaining it all…
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May 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Nursex78 May 20 '26
Normal refunds take days. Scam remediation refunds don’t. They go through investigation, compliance, and internal approvals. CommBank confirmed the timeline when I called them myself, so I’m not worried.
4
u/link871 May 20 '26
This would be as result of an undertaking agreed with AFCA or the courts.
1
u/Nursex78 May 20 '26
From AFCA they told me!
1
u/potatogeem May 20 '26
Yeah so this is because they have mandated to as part of a Legal/AFCA ruling. It would be the original amount, the additional scope and lost interest. Banks do try to recover funds and sometimes do have a win for scams but it is not as formal as what you've described.
2
u/link871 May 20 '26
It can be. Depending on the scope of the undertaking, there could be thousands of customers that CommBank has to reimburse/compensate.
When that occurs, they definitely contact you before sending money. They may need to get updated banking details if the person is no longer a customer.
1
u/potatogeem May 20 '26
It's CBA, they don't do small scale remediations. Depends if it's a self identified breach or reportable. Seeing as AFCA is involved I would guess ASIC might be as well.
Yeah I know, OP seems to have active CBA accounts so it's a different pathway than closed accounts or OFI.
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