Aussie pensioner left homeless and living off just $47 a fortnight after losing her retirement savings to cruel scam
A pensioner has been left homeless and living off just $47 a fortnight after she was allegedly scammed out of her entire retirement savings.
Sue McCracken, 71, from Victoria, was desperate to find a roof over her head after her rental lease expired when she came across a site for caravans.
She spent $9,300 from her savings on a 2017 Jayco Journey caravan, unaware the website where she bought her new mobile home, was allegedly a complete sham.
‘I contacted this woman and she was really good,’ Ms McCracken told A Current Affair.
‘She helped me through the process and sent me the contract of sale.
‘The next day I got a message to say this was the bank account number to pay it into, which I did.’
But Ms McCracken never received the caravan.
‘I guess in a way it’s my own fault,’ Ms McCracken said.
A pensioner has allegedly been scammed out of her entire retirement savings, forcing her to survive off just $47 a fortnight
Victorian Sue McCracken, 71, spent her $9,300 in retirement savings on a 2017 Jayco Journey caravan
‘I admit I’ve been caught, but I guess I just needed that caravan to live in and just went ahead with it.
‘You feel as though you can’t talk to people because you feel like a fool, which makes it worse.’
Ms McCracken, whose husband-of-47-years lives in a dementia ward, said she is now left with under $50 a fortnight after covering the cost of his care.
She and her husband do not have children and she has no family to lean on.
The caravan website was linked to another ABN listing two directors in Victoria who both denied any involvement and claimed their company details had been stolen.
Ms McCracken has since started a GoFundMe page which has raised more than $20,000.
Victoria Police confirmed they are investigating.
‘It is understood a 71-year-old woman was scammed out of $9,300 by a website posing as a car and caravan dealer on Tuesday, 4 August,’ police said in a statement.
‘Officers believe others have used the site and attempted to buy discounted vehicles.
‘Investigations are ongoing into reports another victim’s business ABN was falsely used. No arrests have been made at this stage, and investigations are ongoing.’
The website has been taken down.
