‘Completely spooked’: Woman is told by police officer criminals have her bank card. Then the cops reveal the case never existed

A 27-year-old Australian woman says she was left “completely spooked” after falling victim to an elaborate scam, which claimed her bank cards and personal information were compromised, even though authorities later confirmed no such case existed.

The woman, who shared her story on Reddit, said she considers herself “internet safe” but was overwhelmed by a series of messages and phone calls linked to an Australian cryptocurrency platform, CoinSpot. CoinSpot users often receive “recovery codes” to reset access to their accounts, but the woman did not have an account. “I kept replying ‘N’ to ‘stop the recovery’ Lesson 1, never reply,” she wrote.

Then, the situation escalated when she received a phone call from a man claiming to be from CoinSpot. “He had an English accent and asked about suspicious activity,” she recalled. “I told him, ‘It’s not me, I don’t have an account, and to just please remove all my details from his system.’ He replied, ‘Absolutely ma’am, I’ll make a note of it,’ and hung up.”

Someone posing as the “Australian Federal Police” called her back

A week later, she received another call, this time from a No Caller ID number. The caller claimed to be from the Australian Federal Police and began the conversation by stating her full legal name, phone number, email, and home suburb. “I’m absolutely completely spooked out. So of course, I believe him,” she said.

The alleged officer claimed that over the weekend, a person had been arrested and that a laptop and three phones had been seized containing her personal information, including bank cards. “He told me to cancel all my cards, change all my passwords to something completely different,” she said. He also asked about online accounts such as Facebook, eBay, and Gumtree, warning her to secure each one.

Suspicion arose, however, when he inquired about cryptocurrency accounts. Recognizing the scam, the woman requested a report number from the caller so she could follow up at a police station. “Yep, absolutely, here it is XXXXXXX,” the caller said, according to her post. But upon visiting the police station, she learned there had been no arrests, no reports linked to her name, and the case number provided did not exist.

After contacting the eSafety hotline, she discovered she was at least the second person to encounter this type of scam. While the motive remains unclear, the advice scammers give — such as changing passwords and canceling cards — is legitimate safety guidance. “No money was stolen, but it was just absolutely insane,” she said.

Cybercrime experts warn that scams like this often prey on fear and urgency, combining personal details obtained from data breaches or online profiles with convincing phone calls. CoinSpot has advised users to remain vigilant and to report suspicious communications to both the platform and authorities.