Centrelink mum Carly Davidson thought she had struck gold with a cunning Afterpay, Zip and Latitude scam. But then her lavish new world fell apart

A mother faces jail time after she was caught stealing the identities of 58 Aussies in a cunning buy-now, pay-later scam - and then using their money to live a lavish life.

Carly Davidson, 36, from Sydney's south, has admitted to a raft of fraud offences after embarking on a massive shopping spree between June 2019 and February 2021.

For almost two years, during the peak of the Covid pandemic, Davidson collected people's identity information including their names, date of births, residential addresses and driver's licences. 

She then used the data to create accounts with pay-it-later companies. She took out lines of credit in her victims' names on services including Afterpay, Zip Pay, LatitudePay, Openpay and Humm. 

She then embarked on a $19,376 shopping blitz with the money spent on injectable cosmetics, Ikea furniture, jewellery, massage devices, a 55inch television, Menulog deliveries, shoes, Airbnb stays, rideshare services and even pet food.

The sophisticated scam saw Davidson use more than 100 fake phone numbers to receive verification texts and emails using her victims' information. 

When police raided her unit in Malabar, in Sydney's south, in February 2021, they found a haul of Davidson's stolen goods.

They also found a toolbox containing 96 SIM cards and two pieces of paper filled with credit card details and identity information.

In a text exchange found on a recovered phone, she posed as one of her victims 'Janet' - to send a pay-it-later employee date of birth details and a confirmation code to finish setting up an account.

When Daily Mail Australia confronted Davidson outside a community corrections office this week, she refused to discuss her crimes or issue an apology to the dozens of Australians she scammed. 

She only uttered 'no comment' before walking inside the building.

THE SCHEME 

Police facts obtained by Daily Mail Australia reveal Davidson - an unemployed mother on government payments - systematically planned her web of fraudulent activity by mixing and matching the details of various victims to make her illegal purchases. 

Many of Davidsons 58 victims had no idea their information had been stolen and used to take out credit which could affect their chances of securing home or car loans. 

Buy-now-pay-later loans can negatively impact applicants' credit score if they fail to make payments or open too many accounts, potentially affecting future lending capacity. 

It remains unclear how Davidson managed to get a hold of victims' driving licences and bank card details, some of which were later found stashed at her home.  

Some victims led to her obtaining thousands of dollars in cash - with her top three victims garnering her credit lines of $4,094.90, $3,296.68 and $2,882.95. 

Over the course of her offending period, Davidson set up at least one new line of credit almost every month using her victims' personal data, and accrued $15,240 alone between 3 January and 28 January, 2020. 

The pay-it-later account from Davidson's most profitable victim ($4,094.90) was set up in December 2019 - just as the Covid-19 pandemic began to spread across the world. 

However, it wasn't until 10 months later - in October 2020 - that she began using the account to spend $1,370 on Prouds jewellery, $734 on a Dyson vacuum, as well as $1,861.90 on products from Harvey Norman. 

While Davidson waited before using her biggest credit line, she continued to spend other victims' money throughout early 2020, engaging in several binge shops in January, March, April, May and June. 

A second victim was the unknowing sponsor of a two-day $1,693.99 spending blitz in April that year, which saw Davidson fork out $899.99 at an injectables clinic, $126.89 on Menulog, $612.30 on Airbnb and $54.81 on an Ola cab. 

On some occasions she enlisted workers on Airtasker by using an account listed under the name 'Lisa K' which was one of her victims. Workers delivered larger items such as electronics and furniture to her unit.

In May 2020, she purchased a two-seater lounge and a queen-sized bed from Ikea, in Tempe, using Humm credit she had obtained via a fourth victim.

She then paid an Airtasker $154 (as well as a $20 tip) to have it delivered, using the financial details of a fifth victim who was a NSW Police officer. 

The furniture haul was part of a two-week splurge courtesy of the Detective Sergeant which also included a $78 pizza order, $157 worth of Afterpay credit used on shoes from Athletes Foot, and $164.60 on dog food from a local vet.

CCTV footage later retrieved from the vet showed Davidson walking out with two 3kg bags of Royal Canin Anallegernic dog food which is prescribed for pets with severe adverse food reactions. 

Her shopping frenzy continued into the following year, with one of her last victims being robbed of $3,296.68 in January 2021 after Davidson created a fake email address and Zip Pay account in her name.

Davidson racked up the hefty bill in just four day with purchases at Coles ($638 and $98.79 each), Bunnings Warehouse ($547.30), Michael Hill ($1,399), Prouds ($500), Deliveroo ($7.78 and $75 each) and on a taxi fare ($30.81). 

Court documents show Davidson showed no signs of slowing down her operation in the weeks before her February 2021, having registered five new phone numbers  under different people's names. 

Between January and February, Davidson used another six victims to set up lines of credits. 

THE RAIDS 

In February 2021, police raided her Malabar home and found a treasure trove of items including four SIM cards, 14 gift cards, a Samsung phone, Sony TV, lounge set, Dulux paint, several pairs of shoes, perfumes, a Michael Kors watch, and sheet sets.

A number of electronic devices were also seized including two Apple iPhones, Bauhn headphones, two sets of Apple Airpods, two OPPO phones, a Swann security camera, a Sony speaker, a Sony Cybershot camera, and Turbosound speakers. 

In her main bedroom, police also discovered a safe containing two resealable bags containing 2.28g of methamphetamine, a gold chain, and six mobile phones. 

A toolbox containing the identity and financial information of her victims was later confirmed to have her fingerprints on the lid. 

Analysis of the recovered phones uncovered the names of dozens of other victims she had used to create pay-it-later accounts as well as fake email addresses. 

Two days later, police carried out a second search on a storage container in Rosebery, where they found a tin box containing nine bank cards, a Virgin Australia frequent flyer's card, a Guzman and Gomez loyalty card and a teaching ID card.

In total, 16 bank cards in multiple names were seized across the two searches. Only four had been reported lost or stolen and just one had fraudulent transactions reported.

During her first police interview, Davidson told officers she didn't work and lived 'pay-cheque-to-pay-cheque' on her $800 fortnightly government payments, while her partner, who is on disability benefits, didn't contribute to the household.

While she was grilled over her crimes, Davidson mostly told officers 'no comment' or 'can't remember' to the various allegations. 

She admitted the meth was hers and that she had attended the Matraville vet. But she claimed all of the furniture in her apartment - which included the exact same model lounge as the one purchased from Ikea - belonged to her. 

Davidson was initially charged with about 300 offences and spent six months in jail before being granted bail in September 2021. 

Many of the charges have since been withdrawn or dismissed as her case progressed through the legal system over the past two years. 

In November 2022, Davidson pleaded guilty to 70 charges including dozens of counts of fraud, several counts of attempted fraud, possessing stolen goods and drug possession.  

Daily Mail Australia understands those charges are expected to be further whittled down by the time she is sentenced as part of plea negotiations.

THE AFTERMATH 

Davidson faced Sydney Downing Centre Court on Monday alongside her high-profile lawyer, Bryan Wrench, who has represented celebrities such as actor John Jarratt, singer Shannon Noll and ex-NRL star Sam Burgess. 

Mr Wrench asked for the sentencing hearing to be adjourned for six weeks to allow her legal team time to obtain a sentencing assessment report. 

Magistrate Michael Barko agreed, but cautioned Davidson that she must continue to abide by bail conditions, which require her to report to authorities regularly. 

'If you don't report again, I will throw you in jail,' he said. 

One count of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception carries a maximum penalty of two years when heard in the Local Court. 

Davidson will return to court for sentencing in January 2024. 

A LatitudePay spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the company has 'waived the debt of confirmed victims of the fraud and taken steps to ensure that the fraud has not impacted their credit score'. 

LatitudePay closed its BNPL offering in February. 

A spokesperson for McGrathNichol, which took over Openpay when it was placed into liquidation in February this year, said the receivers could not comment on incidents preceding their involvement with the pay-it-later company. 

Daily Mail Australia contacted Afterpay, Humm, and Zip Pay for comment, asking whether any steps have since been taken to tighten credit application processes, if the victims' credit scores were impacted and if they have been re-evaluated. 

Daily Mail Australia did not receive a response by deadline.