Phone thief raided victim's Sharesies investment account and moved $50,000 in three transfers
A Hamilton man is behind bars after a stolen cellphone gave criminals a direct route into an investment app, netting tens of thousands of dollars. The case also exposed a separate scheme to help scammers cheat an elderly victim out of $24,000.
Key points
- Thieves who stole one man's phone accessed his Sharesies account, a New Zealand investment app, and attempted three bank transfers totalling more than $50,000.
- Marith Khao, 34, of Hamilton, received $17,658 into his account before Sharesies blocked the remaining two transfers.
- Khao was sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of money laundering, receiving stolen property and using a document for pecuniary advantage.
- Two years before the Sharesies case, Khao helped launder $24,000 that scammers had taken from a 77-year-old victim.
A stolen cellphone turned into a $50,000 problem for one New Zealand man after thieves used it to break into his Sharesies account, an online investment platform that lets ordinary people buy and sell shares directly from their phone.
Once inside, the criminals initiated three bank transfers. Sharesies caught the fraud mid-stream and blocked two before they cleared. By then, $17,658 had already landed in a bank account controlled by Marith Khao, a 34-year-old Hamilton resident.
How did Khao fit into this?
Khao received the stolen money knowing it came from fraud. That makes him a money mule: someone who accepts and passes on illegally obtained funds on behalf of criminals, often for a cut. Courts treat this as money laundering even when the mule didn't carry out the original theft.
He was convicted on three charges, money laundering, receiving stolen property and using a document for pecuniary advantage (that is, using a fake or misused document to gain financially). The Hamilton District Court sentenced him to 18 months in jail.
Was there a second offence?
Yes. Two years before the Sharesies case, Khao helped a separate group of scammers move $24,000 taken from a 77-year-old victim. NZ Herald, which first reported the full sentencing details, didn't name the elderly victim.
Scammers typically contact older people by phone or email, pretend to be from a bank or government agency, and persuade them to transfer money. Khao's role was to receive and redirect those funds, a step that makes the trail harder for investigators to follow. Our August story on a $500,000 fake-broker operation showed the same layering tactic used at far greater scale.
What does this mean for people who invest through apps?
If your phone is stolen, your investment accounts are at risk, not just your banking app. Most investment platforms, including Sharesies, let users withdraw funds to a linked bank account. A thief with an unlocked phone can trigger those transfers in minutes.
Four practical steps are worth taking now. Enable a strong screen lock using a long PIN or biometric (fingerprint or face recognition). Turn on two-factor authentication inside every financial app, meaning the app sends a one-time code to a second device before allowing any transfer. Set up transaction alerts so a text or email arrives the moment any transfer leaves your account. If your phone is stolen, contact your investment platform immediately to freeze outgoing transfers.
Sharesies did catch two of the three transfers. That's the system working. But $17,658 still moved before the block took effect, and that's the number that will follow Khao out of prison.
