Thousands have already fallen prey to a convincing new scam that involves answering unknown calls. Photo from ACMA.


The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has urged people to stay cautious and never give out their personal details.

Scamwatch, an online information and assistance provider run by the ACCC, received more than 4940 reports involving the scam. Total financial losses have clocked up to more than $121,800, and that is just within this year.




The ploy consists of the scammers sending unsuspecting individuals a recorded message from someone claiming to be an Australian Border Force (ABF) officer, then suggesting that a parcel addressed to the person had been intercepted and seized for supposedly containing illegal contents.

According to the message, an ‘arrest warrant has been issued because of the parcel’. This sends the victim into a panic, and then the scammers ask the recipient to dial “one” to speak with another officer.

At this point, citizens should hang up immediately, said an ACCC spokesperson in a statement to 7NEWS.

“They (the scammers) would ask the reporter (victim) to google their local Australian Federal Police phone number and (they had) called the reporter from that number through spoofing”, the spokesperson continued.

“Scammers would then get the victim to share bank account details, driving licence, passport, and a photo of them (the victim) holding the licence. With these details, scammers can compromise the victim’s identity, with the photo being useful to pass a variety of institutions’ Know Your Customer checks,” they explained.

There have been other variations to this type of scam from before - there’s one impersonating officers from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and there are also those who impersonate people from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the ploy involving threats to the individuals if they don’t immediately make a payment.

There’s even a newer variation where scam texts are posing as delivery notifications for people who ordered ahead for Christmas. Photo from 9NEWS.

“Law enforcement agencies and government departments will never ask you to pay a fine with cash, cryptocurrencies, or gift cards,” the ACCC spokesperson stated.

“They will not call and demand you transfer funds to a bank account. The Australian Border Force will not call, email, or contact you via social media, and threaten to arrest you. (And) no Australian government agency (law enforcement included), will demand payment for a fine over the phone.”

If you think you, or anyone you know, have been scammed, Scamwatch lets you know where to get help.

 

[Vinylted]

Well warned thankyou.

 

[tomtom]

My wife received the call last Wednesday - she was petrified that someone had sent something illegal - I immediately deleted the call. Hope none of the members have been caught - an expensive mistake for those caught unaware.