We’re right in the middle of Australia’s National Scams Awareness Week, and with over 81,000 reports already made this year, a number that would obviously be much lower than the true number of people affected out there, and with $92 million stolen from Australians thus far, scams are rife, and the scammers hope to scam as many people as possible.
3 in every 4 scam reports received by the Australian Government’s Scamwatch.gov.au service involve impersonation — which sees criminals pretending to be people we should trust.
Most impersonation scams came by text message, with people posting family, government organisations or road tolls companies, with scammers posing as banks causing the highest losses.
These scammers pretend to be trusted brands, recruiters and government organisations – even friends or family – to steal personal information and money, and they work at putting you in a highly emotional state: anxious, scared or excited, and obviously, they can happen to anyone, with scammers pretending to be Vodafone calling me earlier this year to offer a promise of 50% off my phone bill for six months, supposedly because I was a loyal customer.
Here’s the official video, more details below, so please read on!
Scamwatch has more information on how to spot a scam here, but its advice is simple.
Next time you receive a call, text or email that asks for sensitive information or doesn’t seem right, STOP and THINK – who’s really there?
Scamwatch advises you to ignore these messages, to delete and block, and keep scrolling. You’re advised to never click the link, and that if hanging up on someone feels hard, it’s OK to tell them you’ll call back on their main number – even if you don’t. Do whatever you need to end the conversation.
You should also independently check who you’re dealing with, and make sure you never use contact details you’ve been given by a potential scammer, whether it is by text, email or over the phone. If you want to check who’s really there, use official websites, apps, phone numbers and email addresses you’ve looked up yourself.
