David was so excited about the tractor he'd just purchased online, he'd already thought up a name for it: Big Red.
The one he owned was "older than he is" and the Queensland farmer had been saving up for new tractor, just to make life on the land a little easier.
But days after transferring thousands of hard-earned dollars, he discovered the tractor he'd bought didn't exist.
This is the anatomy of a scam that’s preying on regional communities and is still operating — despite multiple complaints to state and federal authorities.
A website registered in Russia has been masquerading as a Sydney-based business, using a fake street address and a real ABN for a company that doesn't even sell farm machinery.
It has been fleecing Australians for nearly a year, but for David, the drama began to unfold in early October.
His daughter Rebecca spoke to the ABC on behalf of her dad, who doesn't want his surname published.
"He gave me a call and said: 'Look I think I've just been scammed,'" she said.
How the scam unfolded
David had been googling tractors when he came across Epic Farming, a company claiming to sell used tractors "with up to a 50 per cent discount" acquired through bank repossessions and insolvencies.
The website looked convincing: it featured dozens of tractors with detailed descriptions, included staff bios and promoted the fact that it had a bona fide ABN, a street address in St Marys, Sydney, and testimonials from satisfied customers.
David selected the model he needed — a 2020 Kubota MX6000HST Tractor, advertised for $19,900 including freight — and emailed the company via the website.
An automatic reply landed in his inbox, adding a sense of urgency to the transaction:
"We are fully booked today. Our sales department will follow up with a phone call tomorrow from (02) 8111 ****. Save this number to your contacts list to be sure not to miss the call."
A sales agent going by the name of Isabelle Neumayer got in touch, as promised, and within the space of a week, David had signed a contract and transferred the funds to a Bendigo Bank account using the BSB, account number and payee name provided.
The tractor, he was told, would be delivered within a fortnight.
"It wasn't until October 10 that he thought, hang on, something is not right here," Rebecca said.
“The website became locked, so it was password protected, the phone number had been disconnected; they’d stopped emailing."
Making matters worse, David had provided his driver's licence details to the scammers, exposing him to the risk of identity theft.
Rebecca sprang into action, reporting the scam to the police and multiple agencies including ReportCyber, ScamWatch and Queensland's Office of Fair Trading. None of which, Rebecca said, were able to materially help.
The biggest blow came from her dad's bank and Bendigo Bank, who told her there was simply nothing they could do to recover the $19,900 her father had transferred to the scammers, even though he’d been deceived.
"It’s quite infuriating because the banks won’t recognise it as a mistaken transfer," Rebecca said.
She believes banks need to take more responsibility for hosting these so-called mule accounts that scammers are using to wash money through.
'Mistaken transactions' in the spotlight
Around the same time, Graham — a retired registered nurse living off his superannuation savings in regional New South Wales — was about to become another victim.
He'd also exchanged emails with Isabelle Nuemayer, signed a sales contract and arranged a delivery date for his new 2005 model John Deere 5620 MFWD Tractor. He'd even spoken on the phone to a sales representative called Daniel, who "sounded reasonable".
"I asked him about scams, and he said: 'No we're not a scam, just look at our reviews,'” said Graham who also doesn't want to be identified.
Shortly after he sent $25,500 to the same Bendigo Bank account as David, communications went black. The website became password protected; his emails went unanswered.
“It leaves me short $25,500 and ... a total loss of faith in humanity,” said Graham, telling the ABC he was "devastated".
"There's no Australian spirit left anymore."
His case has now been referred to the Rural Crime Investigators at Parkes Police Station, but Graham has his doubts about whether the team has the resources to investigate.
According to cyber security experts, the criminals behind these scams are no longer "mickey mouse operatives working out of a basement somewhere — they're organised criminal gangs".
"You transfer the money from your Australian account to another Australian account and within minutes, that money is transferred offshore or into crypto-currency, where it's very, very hard for the banks to get it back," said Kathy Sundstrom from IDCARE, the Australian and New Zealand national identity and cyber support service.
"And that's the issue."
Scammers often use "compromised or fraudulent" bank accounts, according to Ms Sundstrom. She said in some cases, people are even making money by renting their accounts to scammers.
Spotting the red flags
Scams like these have become so prolific, it's almost like a game of whack-a-mole for federal authorities.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has managed to shut down 1,471 phishing and online shopping scam websites in the four months since July, but its efforts are hampered by the fact that it cannot compel the hosting service to take down a specific site.
On Instagram, Northern Territory Consumer Affairs has been sounding the alarm, specifically, about farm machinery scams, warning consumers: "If you've discovered a stunning bargain, you may have just discovered a scam website."
A seasoned scam-buster, Commissioner Traci Keys said the first red flag on the Epic Farming website was the price tags.
The images of the tractors, she said, had been stolen from a legitimate American retailer’s website and are advertised at "exceptionally cheap" prices on the scam website.
For example, one tractor was listed on the US site in March for $US50,000 ($77,000) but on the Epic Farming website it was listed in July for $28,000.
A quick ASIC search reveals Epic Farming was misusing an ABN belonging to a legitimate Sydney-based business with a similar name — Epic Asset Management Pty Ltd — to deceive buyers.
That company has been registered since 2019, while the fake website only appeared this year. Further investigations found its IP address was registered in Russia — not Australia.
NT Consumer Affairs called Epic Asset Management Pty Ltd to be doubly sure, and confirmed "they do not engage in machinery sales".
"It is a common trend that fake websites use legitimate business details or addresses to promote their products and to trick potential buyers into thinking they are legitimate," Ms Keys said.
"They count on nobody checking."
If there was any doubt remaining, a reverse Google image search revealed the photos of the Epic Farming CEO and board members featured in the About Us section on the website were also fake. They'd been plucked from stock images and other sites.
Government rules out bank reimbursement scheme
For consumers like Graham and David, these red flags can be hard to spot.
The federal government has introduced legislation to crackdown on scams, focusing heavily on prevention, including fines of up to $50 million for banks and other companies that fail to meet new obligations.
Despite pleas from consumer advocates, the government has refused to adopt a reimbursement model like to one legislated by the UK government, which forces banks to provide up to 85,000 pounds in compensation to fraud victims.
Graham, in regional NSW, thinks it's "disgraceful" that he has the scammer's BSB and account number, email addresses and phone numbers, and yet he's been told there is still nothing that can be done to get his money back.
“The banks have to take accountability for this. The same as I have to take accountability for stupidly sending the money too,” he said.
It's the same bitter taste left in Tony Davis's mouth — he lost $13,300 to the Epic Farming scam in August.
Shortly after he transferred the money to a Westpac account, his own bank, Bendigo, alerted him to the fact that he'd been scammed.
In a follow-up letter, Bendigo Bank assured the 62-year-old that it had "conducted a thorough examination of your case" and "initiated fraud reports to facilitate recovery" but ultimately no money had been recovered.
"You can't trust anybody anymore, the way the world is. You can't trust anybody and that's a sad way to be," Mr Davis said.
He's since bought a tractor, from a real person, 20 minutes down the road from his farm in Queensland.
But he's hoping that sharing his story will spur action.
"The government needs to get off their backsides and do something about it," he said.
Last year, Australians lost $2.74 billion in more than 600,000 scams, according to the ACCC, but Rebecca said the real cost is far greater.
"It's quite damaging to your confidence, and even just your belief in humanity," she said.
