Two citizens from Australian lost around $130,000 AUD to the Tesla Scam while buying the electric car online.
While trying to buy the Tesla 3 model, two Australians lost $130,000 AUD by falling for a fake invoice scam. The scam involved changing the bank details of the supplier’s email while leaving the original design of the invoice intact, then fooling the user into thinking it is a real invoice.
Andrea Hammond, one of the victims, stated how she lost $74,647 AUD by sending the money to the bank account on the invoice received in an email from the company, rather than making her final payment through Tesla’s official site.
Hammond wasn’t the only Australian that felt for this trick, another one, who preferred to be called “Ron” has also been scammed when he tried to buy a Tesla 3 model in late 2019. Ron managed to recover $17,800 AUD which hasn’t yet moved out of the hacker’s bank account, however, the rest of the money was lost.
The Hackers Changed The Bank Details on the Invoice
It looks like the hackers managed to seize the email from tesla and change the bank details on the invoice attached. The scam method has been prevalent with hackers for they do not need to change the original email design, leaving everything else to look exactly the same, including the design, address, logo, order information – but only changing the payment details.
Tesla Will Have To Improve Their Services in Australia
Ron stated that while he wanted to verify the legitimacy of the bank account, there was no phone number available to reach Tesla.
The victims stated that Tesla shall verify its payment method and offer better alternatives. Just a month ago, the company announced the support for Bitcoin payments, but it is only available in the US.
“The issue I have with Tesla, in my opinion, is that they have failed in their duty of care to their customers by using what is clearly, and certainly one can see this in hindsight, an insecure way and a risky way of requesting payment for the vehicles,”
Ron
Tesla stated that it would expand its support for Bitcoin payments in other continents. The company hasn’t responded to the complaints about the outdated payment method.
The company is the largest seller of electric cars in Australia. Australian customers can benefit from paying with Bitcoin, that is why hopefully this option could be available the soonest.
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