Got a call just now today 01-Oct-2010.  The caller said his name was Michael, he had an Indian accent and spoke English well but clearly it was not his native tongue.  He claimed to be from an organisation called the "Australian Council Bank Refund Department".  He was offering us $3114.00, which was coming from a pool of unclaimed monies being distributed back to the community as part of an economic stimulus package.  To proceed, we had to go the post office, get two (2) forms from Western Union: a money receiving form, and a sending form; also a photo ID and a mobile phone.  We has to fill out the forms, and submit them, and pay the associated fees of $200, which would be reimbursed to us later.  After doing this we were to call: (08) 7200 1167.  

He seemed anxious to close the deal; this offer had to be completed the day it was made or else the money could not be given to us.

I too, have recieved phone calls from John Darby from the Australian Council for Bank Reclaims. I have been contacted daily for the last week on both land and mobile lines. It is quite disturbing that scammers have access to personal details. All the preventative measures you put in place to protect yourself, somehow don't seem to be any match for their resources. The details of the calls are identical. Each time a call has come through, I have notified the good people at the Australian Communications and Media Authority. I was given much the same information regarding the bogus phone number, and told too, that these numbers are difficult to locate. Still, I placed an inquiry to my telecommunications carriers to see whether or not they could also be of assistance. I am waiting for their response.I think that notification to the local print in the area is a wonderful idea. It has become apparent that there are no state boundaries and location doesn't discriminate. The more people who are aware, might help dispel this scam.

I received a call at about 8am on 17/9/10 from a Marcus Jones claiming to be a federal government official from Bank Reclaims saying that they had recovered $5490 from my bank for overcharges made. He gave me a reference number, gave me his name and said he was the accounts manager. He said to recieve the money I needed to go to my nearest post office and get a Western Union 'money receiving form' and a 'money sending form' to fill in.  He said that I needed both forms because in order for me to recieve my money I needed to pay a $451 refundable admin fee that I would receive back with my $5490.  He gave me a phone number to call once I had the forms so he could help me fill the forms out (he suggested I take my mobile phone with me to the post office so he could help me fill the forms in on the spot), especially to avoid the 40% gst that commercial transactions require.  He also said  that the transaction would take 7 to 8 minutes at the post office after which time I would have immediate access to my money.  He asked how long it would take me to get to my nearest post office and how long before I might call him because he was trying to help people as quickly as he can and he has so many people to help!!   At this point I said I would look into it and asked for a number that I could call to verify this government initiative.  He said to call the number he had given me.

I received a call today from this same number asking me the same things that all these people said. I just agreed but I didnt do anything.

Today I received a call from John Darcy at Australian Council of Banking Reclaims. He told me his employee number was JD598 and that he was calling from Perth, WA. He knew my name and address details. John explained that I was owed a refund of bank fees, and that this was due to new state and federal laws whereby banks cannot charge excessive fees anymore, and that fees previously charged must now be refunded to customers. These included fees for insufficient funds, dishonoured checks, and regular monthly fees. He claimed I was owed $4114. John asked that I go to my nearest Post Office, at my convenience, and call the number he had given me, (08) 7200 1167 and ask to be put through to him. He would then stay on the line and talk me through what was needed on each of the Western Union forms ( one green form and one yellow form.) There would be a registration fee of $386, but I would get this back in a total of $4500, which the Post Office staff would pay to me on the spot, when they received the forms back from the Australian Council of Banking Reclaims. I was immediately suspicious of the call, and I took notes throughout, as I always do for business calls, as I don't trust my memory ! John told me that if I didn't want to get what I was owed straight away, then I would be sent a cheque in the mail by the end of the year, for the fees owed to me. However, if I wanted to have access to my money now, then to call him as he had instructed.I rang my local police, who confirmed that this is a scam. I also rang my local newspaper so that they can alert others in my area that this scam is operating in Port Macquarie, NSW. I was advised that the phone number John had given me was a voice-over IP number, and that he could be calling from anywhere in Australia.When I looked up this company on the web, there is an article from the Western Australian Govt Consumer Protection Scamnet, advising that this scam was active in their state in June and July of 2010.

i received a similar phone call from a Marcus JONES (account manager) details are very similar. My reclaim entitlement was $5492. I was to obtain two Western Union forms "to send" and "receive money" but I was also to deposit $391 (refundable) in order to receive the amount owing to me. I played along with the caller and obtained the forms and he would ring me back to help complete the forms. I took my notes to the local police station for further investigation. He rang me back and he directed me to complete the forms. My instructions were to call back when the money had been deposited to a Popi RAM in India so they could check on the transaction and forward me recalim monies due to  me. I told him that I had contacted the police and that this was a scam he soon hung up.