ACCC launches new SCAMwatch tool in fraud fortnight

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, has announced changes to its SCAMwatch website to help Australians recognise and protect themselves from scams.

"The ACCC will publish 'mock' scams and examples of real scams on its SCAMwatch website to educate consumers about the elements of common scams and the warning signs to look out for," Mr Samuel said. 

SCAMwatch lists a range of the different types of scams reaching consumers, and provides practical advice and information about how to recognise, avoid and report scams.

The changes to SCAMwatch coincide with the second week of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce's annual Fraud Fortnight campaign. The campaign, running until 8 March, will raise awareness and educate consumers about the dangers of scams and the steps that they can take to protect themselves from scams.

Deception scams are the focus of the second week of the Fraud Fortnight campaign.

"Deception scams involve criminals pretending to be from legitimate companies and requesting information that will allow them to profit from their fraud," warned Mr Samuel.

"Most people think they can spot a scam a mile away, but unfortunately scammers are very good at what they do – they rely on consumers letting their guard down.

"Most scams rely on looking or sounding like genuine offers. They can be very hard to spot, and are very good at making you think they have something to lose. It's easy to panic when you are unexpectedly contacted by someone who sounds official, particularly if they say money is at risk.

"But organisations, like financial institutions and banks, don't contact you out of the blue requesting your personal details and other information. If this happens to you, don't provide your details. Many scams originate overseas or take place over the internet which makes them very difficult to track down and prosecute.

"One of the best ways to combat this kind of fraud is to help people take the steps to prevent being caught out in the first place. If consumers lose money to a scam, it is unlikely that they will ever recover it. SCAMwatch and Fraud Fortnight aim to help consumers avoid scams in the first place – and prevention is definitely a better option."

Throughout the Fraud Fortnight campaign, consumers will be given crucial and simple precautions, to help arm themselves and protect their hard-earned money and their identity.

To find out more about how scams work and how to protect yourself visit www.scamwatch.gov.au or call SCAMwatch on 1300 795 995.

Background

Fraud Fortnight is the third campaign run by the taskforce. The taskforce was established in March 2005 as part of a whole-of-government approach to combat consumer fraud and scams targeted at consumers. It comprises 19 Federal and State government regulatory agencies and departments (including New Zealand) that have a responsibility for consumer protection in relation to frauds and scams. The work of the ACFT includes outreach strategies, prevention strategies and research to reduce the impact of consumer-related frauds and scams.
 
The taskforce is part of the Mass-Market Global Fraud project of the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network (ICPEN). Due to the exponential growth of global scams, over 30 ICPEN consumer regulatory agencies around the world participate in campaigns to warn consumers against global scams and fraud during the February/March period.

Consumers who have been the subject of scams are encouraged to fill out a scams survey on the Australian Institute of Criminology website: http://www.aic.gov.au/research/fraud/acft/survey.html. Gathering this information will assist in the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of scam offenders

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 Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

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 – Office of Fair Trading; 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 www.scamwatch.gov.au for a list of taskforce partners.