“It all started when I was driving back from the bank,” Kylie, small business owner of Flavourista, recalls. She had just deposited a payment for her mother’s headstone, which had recently been completed.
“On the way home, I called a colleague to wish her all the best in the new role she was about to begin. After a bit of small talk, she reminded me about getting our sales team to complete the Cyber Wardens course,” says Kylie.
Deciding to lead by example, Kylie took the course herself before recommending it to her team. Halfway through, she came across a key piece of advice: be wary of emails from suppliers requesting payments to different bank accounts.
“That’s when it hit me,” Kylie says. “Just the day before, I had received an email from the headstone company saying they were having issues with their business bank account and asking me to transfer the payment to another account. They even provided updated bank details.”
Initially, she didn’t think twice about it. But now, the red flag was clear as day. “My heart sank. I called the company immediately to confirm, and they said they hadn’t sent that email. I realised I’d been scammed.”
Without wasting a second, Kylie raced back to the bank. After waiting 25 tense minutes in line, she managed to speak to the same teller who had handled the initial deposit.
“I explained the situation, and she looked up the account. It had been flagged as fraudulent. I was so relieved—they had tried to withdraw the money, but the bank had already flagged it, so they weren’t able to access it.”
Kylie got her money back and was able to make the payment to the correct account. But the scare didn’t end there. “The teller confirmed that the name on the fraudulent bank account didn’t match the name on the invoice. I hadn’t even thought to check that when I made the initial deposit,” she admitted.
It turned out that scammers had intercepted the headstone company’s emails and sent Kylie a convincing fake, complete with replacement bank account details. “I was shocked at how sophisticated it was. They had done their homework.”
Reflecting on the incident, Kylie is emphatic about the importance of cyber security awareness. “Thank goodness I did that course! It saved me more than $5,000, and probably a lot of sleepless nights. I’ve since told the headstone company to secure their emails.”
Kylie’s advice to others is simple but crucial: “Educate yourself and your team. It’s not just about protecting money—it’s about peace of mind. And with the course being free, doing the training is really a no-brainer.”
A powerful reminder
Kylie’s story is a powerful reminder that sometimes, the smallest actions can have the biggest impact. In this case, a timely cyber security course not only saved her a substantial sum but also prevented an experience that could have been far more distressing.
