Suncorp won't say if police have been notified over Surry Hills scammer account

Suncorp Bank has declined to confirm if police had been notified about a bank account possibly used in a Surry Hills rental scam that Property Observer reported on last Friday.

The scammer was trying to trick buyers into paying a deposit for a luxury Surry Hills terrace.

The bank account the scammer wanted victims to deposit money into was held with Suncorp Bank under an account number that Property Observer supplied to Suncorp.

A Suncorp spokesperson said he could not comment on individual cases and could not confirm whether the police had been involved in this instance.

“We do know that in some online fraud/scamming cases, the account holders can often be victims themselves,” the spokesperson says.

Property Observer notes it is entirely possibly the account number is fake and part of the elaborate scam.

A prospective Sydney renter stumbled onto the online scam on the classified ad site Gumtree and emailed the poster about the property.

She luckily recognised the hallmarks of a scam as soon as the scammers emailed her back.

The renter, Kieryn, then baited the scammer to draw as much information out as possible and glean how the scam worked.

The original ad was deleted not long after when it was reported by the genuine listing agent of the property.