Canberra restaurant becomes victim of $1100 fraud
A Canberra restaurant was scammed $1100 when customers made bookings using the contact number of an escort agency.
Kingston restaurant Molto Italian experienced the financial loss after a customer claimed their payment for a 10-person dinner was fraudulent. The customer initiated a chargeback with their bank, resulting in the restaurant's account being debited.
On November 24, 2024, the restaurant hosted a party of 10 who had made a prior reservation. That evening, a man called to pay the bill over the phone, and a Molto staff member manually entered his card details into the payment terminal.
In late February, Molto's bookkeeper discovered a $1,100 discrepancy in their financial records.
"They came to me and said, what's this $1100 missing?" Molto’s Carlo Tosolini said. "The bank didn't even come and ask me, they just took the money."
Tosolini attempted to contact the customer using the phone number provided during the booking, but the calls went unanswered. A search of the number revealed it was associated with an escort agency in Sydney.
Tosolini then sent text messages to the number, receiving replies such as, "Hey, who's this" and "Babe my phone is not charged, message me baby". He explained,
"I was trying to play the game" to identify the person responsible. "They were really weird people," he said.
Note, there is no evidence to suggest the escort agency itself was involved in making the reservation.
Tosolini filed a complaint with his bank, who said they would investigate the matter.
Jonathan Jackson, 11th March 2025
