Elderly woman loses $550,000 in cyber scam … New $10 in circulation … Woolworths to partner with Apple Wallet for rewards

A crafty cyber scam has fleeced Australians out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, in cases involving fraudsters intercepting emails and impersonating settlement agents.

The ABC reports an 83-year-old woman lost $558,000 after emails between her son and her settlement agent were intercepted by scammers, who prompted the son to deposit the amount into a different account on his mother’s behalf.

By the time he realised the request was fraudulent, it was too late. The ABC reports another five people have also been targeted with similar scams over the past few months, with buyers and real estate agents urged to be vigilant when communicating about housing deposits and transfers.

New $10 note out in the world

Following on from the release of an update $5 note last year, the Royal Bank of Australia’s new $10 note design will begin being circulated from today.

The note retains its figureheads Dame Mary Gilmore and AB Banjo Paterson, but will be the first to carry the signature of the Reserve Bank Governor, Phil Lowe.

The RBA has advised that while the old $10 notes will be gradually removed from circulation, both versions of the note remain legal tender.

The note revamp process will continue until the end of 2018, when the new $50 will enter circulation.

Woolworths Rewards customers can now open their Apple Wallets for points

Woolworths has partnered with Apple to allow customers using its rewards program to store and redeem points using the tech giant’s digital wallet, reports Fairfax.

The supermarket giant’s rewards program has undergone a number of changes over the past two years, and under the new deal, customers would be able to ditch the physical card and simply use their phones to generate points when they go through the checkout.

Woolworths head of digital and payments Paul Monnington told Fairfax the aim is to create “personalised seamless experiences” for customers.

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