Australian grandmother loses A$850,000 retirement fund in impersonation scam
An 81-year-old Australian grandmother lost her entire A$850,000 retirement fund after scammers posed as economist Stephen Koukoulas and drew her into a supposed investment group. The case shows how convincing online impersonation scams can exploit trust and leave victims facing severe financial and emotional consequences.
Linda Codling was contacted on WhatsApp in January and initially made money on a trade, before being encouraged to invest in US stocks that later fell by 99 per cent. She sold gold and silver to add to her investments and was promised she would be reimbursed, but the group disappeared by July. NSW Police described the operation as sophisticated but said it was based overseas; Codling has received treatment for stress, and her son has started a fundraiser.
- An 81-year-old lost A$850,000 to an investment scam.
- Scammers impersonated economist Stephen Koukoulas.
- Her son has launched a fundraiser to help.
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Stephen Koukoulas is an Australian economist and media personality. Criminals have used his identity to run online scams, posing as him to convince victims they are dealing with a credible, trusted figure.
These impersonation scams typically begin on messaging platforms like WhatsApp, where fraudsters build relationships with victims gradually. They often show targets small early profits from fake investments to gain confidence before pressuring them to invest larger sums in schemes that do not actually exist.
Older people can be particularly vulnerable to these scams because they may be less familiar with online fraud tactics and more inclined to trust well-known public figures. When victims lose large portions of their retirement savings, the consequences are often devastating and long-lasting, both financially and emotionally.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “‘I’m going to kill myself’: Grandmother, 81, loses her entire $850,000 retirement nest egg in evil ‘pump and dump’ scam after being lured in by fake Kouk hoax”.