More than $300,000 will be returned to victims of 37 North American-based scams after Australian Competition and Consumer Commission court intervention.
"The ACCC, with valuable assistance from the Queensland Police Service and the Competition Bureau Canada, acted to freeze the funds gathered under a mass mail-out to consumers," ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
"Consumers received letters which were carefully written to create a sense of excitement about a huge and unexpected win or prize, including as a result of a lottery, sweepstake, award or other unclaimed funds.
"Sometimes the scammers explain that the reader was 'specially selected'," Mr Samuel said. "Most ask for the payment of a fee before the win or prize can be paid and others offer (often misdescribed) trinkets associated with a bigger win or prize. Some resemble official or legal documents.
"Once the victim has responded, they are guaranteed of one thing: they will receive more and more letters promoting yet further wins. Scammers often work hard to create a personal relationship with their victims, enabling them to elicit ongoing fees and charges for money that never arrives.
"Some victims become so certain that they are only one more small payment away from getting a fortune that they find it impossible to accept that they have been scammed even when bank or police officers explain the scam.
"This investigation was initiated after an observant credit union employee of Adelaide based Powerstate Credit Union, became concerned that a long time customer was making many small payments to overseas 'lotteries' believing that he had already won a major prize. While many of the victims are older consumers, this is not always the case: scammers are happy to take anyone's money, they don't discriminate.
"The joint action has severely disrupted the operations of 37 scam promoters, but the battle is not yet over.
"These particular promoters used Pacific Network Services Ltd and related companies to move their money around the world. PacNet group cooperated with the investigation. It has paid $316,936 in to a trust fund that will now be handed back to some of the victims. Further it has ended its business relationships with promoters identified in the ACCC's court action.
"If all businesses providing cheque transfer services took appropriate steps to monitor their customers' activities for potential scams and then refused to provide services to the operators, the life blood of the scams would be cut off."
Niche Government Consulting and Assurance, will administer the refunds process. Consumers who can show that they paid money to one of the listed scams between 1 March 2006 and 28 February 2007 can apply to the Refunds Administrator for a refund. Details of how consumers can apply for a refund are attached or can be found on the ACCC's web site.
In the event that claims by victims are less than the available funds, the residual will be paid to a suitable consumer group for promoting consumer scams awareness.
Mr Samuel advised consumers that they can reduce the risk of losing money to scams by asking themselves:
if I have never bought a ticket or entered a competition, how could I have won?
should I really send all my personal details to a complete stranger?
if I have won all this money why do they keep asking me for more?
"If in doubt ask your bank or credit union, call your local State/Territory Office of Fair Trading or the ACCC's Infocentre on 1300 302 502 and remember …if it is too good to be true, it probably is."
Both the ACCC and the Queensland Police Service are members of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce, a grouping of law enforcement agencies responsible for coordinating enforcement and educational activities between member agencies. Investigations by the ACCC and several overseas counterparts are continuing.
Who can apply for the refund of money paid to scammers?
Consumers who can provide acceptable proof that they paid money to any of the listed promotions, between 1 March 2006 and 28 February 2007, can apply to the Refunds Administrator for a share of the trust account funds.
How to make a claim for the return of money paid to scammers
If you have acceptable proof that you paid money to any of the listed promotions between 1 March 2006 and 28 February 2007 you can write to: The Refunds Administrator Niche Government Consulting and Assurance PO Box 676 Woden, ACT 2606:
(i) stating how much you paid to each particular promotion; and
(ii) enclosing copies of the acceptable proof, your banking details and contact details including postal or email address and phone numbers. Claims must be received by the Refunds Administrator by 30 September 2007. Claims received after that date will not be accepted.
What are the listed promotions?
The listed promotions are:
Bank Vault CACH CAHCO CAHQ - Central Asset Holding Co CAL Capital Award Reports (CAP) CAR - Cash Acquisition Resources Cash Alert Cashorama CDI - Cash Directives Inc CHP- Carter Hammond Pierce CIDS CPH - Corporate Prize Headquarters CTDS-Cash Telegram Delivery Service DC Bureau E & S Inc - Elwood & Stanley Inc FDF - Fitness de Fabri FPR - Forum Prize Reports Hemstead Rosen Cornwall (HRC) HGA- Hauser, Goffman & Associates HPR-Huntington Prize Report IEA - International Express Awards Inc IPD - International Prize Distribution MWAC NAC - National Awards Commission OUP PAID- Platinum Awards Investigative Division Inc Payment Reporting System (PRS) PGI – Prize Giveaway Prize Report Confirmation Office PWI – Prize World Inc Release Delivered (RDO) Rutger, Feinstein, Rohrbach & Stern Sentinel Marketing Group - SMG SMH - Winners Location Corp Transnational Awards Division (TAD) Worldwide Cash Registry - WCR
What is acceptable proof?
Acceptable proof is any independent evidence that a payment has been made to one of the listed promotions between 1 March 2006 and 28 February 2007. This may include copies of cheque butts or other receipts (for example, for money orders) and corresponding bank statements that show the amount paid, the date paid and the name of the promotion to which the payment was made. The adequacy and verification of documents submitted as acceptable proof are matters for determination by the Refunds Administrator.
What is the cost of making a claim?
You do not have to pay a fee or charge to the Refunds Administrator. You will have to pay the cost of posting documents to the Refunds Administrator and any fees or charges associated with acquiring the acceptable proof (for example, any fees paid for obtaining a bank statement).
Can I ask a question or make a claim by writing or calling the ACCC?
No, you should either write to: The Refunds Administrator Niche Government Consulting and Assurance PO Box 676 Woden, ACT 2606 Or phone them on: 1300 661 369
What if I don't have acceptable proof?
Unfortunately, if you do not have acceptable proof it will not be possible for the Refunds Administrator to pay your claim.
What if my claim is not received by the Refunds Administrator until after the claim period has expired?
Unfortunately, the Refunds Administrator can only accept claims received during the claim period, which expires on 30 September 2007.
What if I disagree with the decision of the Refunds Administrator to reject my claim?
The Refunds Administrator has an internal review procedure to make a final ruling on disputed decisions. If your claim has been rejected but you believe it was a valid claim you can request a review of the initial decision.
What if the value of accepted claims is more than the funds in the trust fund?
If the total value of accepted claims is more than the funds in the trust fund, the Refunds Administrator will proportionally reduce the amount to be paid to fund claimants.
How will the refunds administrator make the payments to claimants?
The Refunds Administrator will make payments to accepted claimants by electronic funds transfer (EFT). Claimants need to provide the Refunds Administrator with their bank account's name, number and BSB number when they make their application for a refund.
