The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today issued a warning to remind consumers about the increasingly innovative techniques scammers use to lure unsuspecting victims into handing over their hard earned money. The ACCC's warning comes as part of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce campaign which was launched yesterday.
"Australians continue to lose substantial amounts of money to a wide range of scams," ACCC's Deputy Chair, Ms Louise Sylvan said. "You work hard for your money, so don't part with it to a scammer with a dead-end offer."
Ms Sylvan offered the following key tips on avoiding scams:
Never respond to an email asking for your PINs or passwords. Suspect a scam if you are asked for your account details or passwords. These are your keys to your money and should be kept secret. Genuine banks and credit unions will never send you an email asking for personal security details like your Internet banking password or PIN.
Never send money to someone you don't know or trust. Be wary of emails and telephone calls from people you don't know. Do not send money to collect winnings from lotteries you never entered.
Only invest with licensed financial services providers. Do a quick search of ASIC's website to ensure that the advisor or firm holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL). If they don't hold an AFSL they must be employed by, or authorised to represent, a business that is licensed by ASIC. Also, check the list of illegal schemes on ASIC's consumer website, FIDO (www.fido.gov.au). Remember though, just because something isn't listed, it doesn't mean that it is okay.
Some recent examples of scams reported to the ACCC which have targeted consumers' money include:
Unsolicited offers
Letters announcing unexpected lottery wins, extraordinary predictions from unknown psychics to invoice-like letters soliciting domain name registrations and business directory entries all have one thing in common – they are designed to take your money.
While the busy small business office is the target for directory/domain name offers, the lottery and psychic letters seem to appeal to the older consumer.
Lured by the belief that "my turn has come" or "just think what I could do for my family", older consumers are responding to hundreds of notifications from regular "promotions". This avalanche of colourful envelopes, bogus seals and trust marks, urgent reminders and official documents from lawyers are netting scammers large sums of money from some of the most vulnerable members of the community.
Most of the letters ask for small sums of money, $30 being the most common. Once these small sums are multiplied by hundreds of letters the amount adds up. Individual losses of $15,000 over a period of 10 months have been reported.
So strong are the advertising techniques used in these letters, that some consumers hide their activities from their family and friends refusing to believe that they are being scammed. Even personal warnings from authorities are ignored.
Dating scams
These include premium numbers/joining fees being used to generate income for not so 'genuine' dating services and potential partners who are in reality advanced fee fraudsters operating out of online dating services.
Complainants have reported that once having joined genuine/reputable online dating agencies they are contacted by an attractive female (photo provided). Once the online relationship has advanced, requests/demands for money begin. Various spurious reasons are provided with the most obvious being the fare for a visit. Once the money is sent, more money is requested for sick relatives and so forth. The visit of course never takes place.
A twist on this scam is the addition of another layer in the scam hierarchy. A request is made for money to 'release' a large sum of inherited money. This is very typical of the Nigerian style/advance fee fraud.
Media inquiries
Ms Louise Sylvan, Deputy Chair, 0410 610 326
Ms Lin Enright, Media, (02) 6243 1108or 0414 613 520
Some of the most common scams from which consumers need to protect their money include:
Phishing - emails (hoax emails) or telephone calls designed to trick people into disclosing personal details such as pins and passwords. Phishing targets have included bank customers, eBay and even the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Money transfer schemes – also known as 'work from home opportunities' or 'mules' which claim to offer consumers a commission for receiving money into their bank account and then transferring it out again. People who participate in these schemes may be prosecuted for money laundering.
Illegal investment schemes – there are rules around how money is raised. Illegal investment schemes include management investment schemes that are not registered with ASIC, ponzi schemes, international bond schemes and pyramid investment schemes. Many of these schemes are targeted at particular groups including the elderly, ethnic and church groups.
Advance fee fraud – includes the famous Nigerian letter and El Gordo Lottery scams. They work by asking you to send money (often overseas) in return for greater payments/riches.
Spyware, such as keylogging – a 'trojan horse' program installed by an internet virus that records the user's mouse clicks and keystrokes and transmits them via the internet to the virus creator. You don't even know that this is happening. Some financial institutions have put in place systems to combat these types of attacks.
Overpayment scams – the seller receives a counterfeit cashier's cheque, corporate cheque or personal cheque from the purchaser in an amount which exceeds the amount owed; is asked to deposit the cheque and transfer the excess funds immediately back to the sender/purchaser; and, the deposited cashier's cheque is subsequently returned as counterfeit and charged back to the seller's account. People selling cars, motorcycles, computer gear or accommodation should be wary of these scams which defraud innocent sellers.
For more detailed information on these and other scams visit www.scamwatch.gov.au.
Taskforce background
Consumer scams are crimes of dishonesty such as forgery, counterfeiting, on-line deception, and theft that are targeted at people who seek to purchase goods and services. Potential victims can be those who use fixed line or mobile phones, computers and the internet, older people, and those who use professional advisers.
As part of a whole of Government approach to combat consumer fraud and scams targeted at consumers, the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce was established in March 2005 and comprises all of the governmental regulatory agencies and departments in Australia and New Zealand who have responsibilities for consumer protection.
The four-week campaign was launched on Mar 4 by the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce to help people protect themselves from scams.
The overall theme for the four weeks of the campaign is 'SCAMS TARGET YOU - Protect Yourself''. The theme for the first week of the campaign is 'Protect Your Money'.
Agencies participating in the Taskforce are:
Australian Government: Attorney General's Department; Australian Bureau of Statistics; Australian Communications and Media Authority; Australian Competition & Consumer Commission; Australian Federal Police (represented by the Australian High Tech Crime Centre); Australian Institute of Criminology; Australian Securities & Investment Commission; and the Department of Communications, Information Technology & the Arts.
New Zealand Government: NZ Commerce Commission; Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
State and Territory Governments: All State and Territory Police jurisdictions; Australian Capital Territory – Office of Fair Trading; Consumer Affairs Victoria; New South Wales – Office of Fair Trading; Consumer Affairs Northern Territory; Queensland – Department of Tourism, Fair Trading and Wine Industry Development; South Australia – Office of Consumer & Business Affairs; Tasmania – Office of Consumer Affairs & Fair Trading; Western Australia – Department of Consumer & Employment Protection.
Taskforce partners
Taskforce members are joined in communicating with Australian consumers about scams by a range of community, non-Government and private sector organisations. Visit http://www.scamwatch.gov.au for a list of Taskforce partners.
Consumers who think they've spotted a scam can check the SCAMwatch website which has detailed information about scams, or report a scam on 1300 795 995. Further information including warnings about the latest financial scams is available from the SCAMwatch website or ASIC's consumer website, FIDO at www.fido.gov.au .
