Showing posts with label identity theft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label identity theft. Show all posts

Wednesday 26 July 2023

ACCC warns scammers targeting Australia’s largest loyalty reward programs

 

Scammers are more than just annoying people who persistently phone at inconvenient times or send begging emails from exotic locations. These days the ploys they use are often more sophisticated and mean their victims can lose money from bank accounts or find themselves with an unexpected debt within minutes of one click of a link or press of a button.


This is the most recent warning of scammer activity.....


The Guardian, 25 July 2023:


The ACCC has issued an urgent warning to customers of some of Australia’s largest loyalty reward programs, including Qantas frequent flyer, after detecting a new scam that targets valuable points.


The National Anti-Scam Centre has received 209 reports to Scamwatch in the past four months, of the scam targeting Qantas frequent flyer, Telstra and Coles loyalty programs customers.


It comes as new research from Choice shows the majority of Australians think banks should reimburse scam victims, as the consumer association joins calls for financial institutions to provide some form of compensation.


Australians lost a record amount of more than $3.1bn to scams in 2022, up from the $2bn lost in 2021, according to ACCC figures.


New data from Commbank released on Tuesday showed Australians are becoming more cautious of answering the phone because of the increase, with three in four (76%) people only picking up if they recognise the number.


With the new scam, consumers receive a text message or email stating their loyalty points are expiring. It includes a link to a fake website, which prompts customers to log in. Customers may also be prompted to provide credit card details to use loyalty points.


Scammers then steal customers’ points, their login details and personal information to use on other platforms and commit identity fraud.


Scammers then steal customers’ points, their login details and personal information to use on other platforms and commit identity fraud.


The vast majority of reports to Scamwatch received so far are in relation to Qantas frequent flyer, Telstra and Coles loyalty programs, but Australians should be aware that any loyalty program could be targeted, ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said.


The National Anti-Scam Centre has contacted the companies that have been impersonated by scammers and is working with web host providers to have the fake websites taken down, to minimise harm to the community,” Lowe said.


We are very concerned that Australians experiencing cost-of-living pressures may be more susceptible to these scams. Scammers are deliberately panicking consumers by claiming their points are expiring soon. We urge people to immediately delete or ignore any message regarding a loyalty program that contains a link.”.....


Three golden rules when answering the phone, reading an email or scrolling a text message, according to the Australian Government National Anti-Scam Centre:


STOP – Don’t give money or personal information to anyone if unsure

Scammers will offer to help you or ask you to verify who you are. They will pretend to be from organisations you know and trust like, Services Australia, police, a bank, government or a fraud service.


THINK – Ask yourself could the message or call be fake?

Never click a link in a message. Only contact businesses or government using contact information from their official website or through their secure apps. If you’re not sure say no, hang up or delete.


PROTECT – Act quickly if something feels wrong.

Contact your bank if you notice some unusual activity or if a scammer gets your money or information. Seek help from IDCARE and report to ReportCyber and Scamwatch.


Wednesday 27 February 2013

ABC hacked - details of around 49,561 people who've commented online now up on PasteBin


 
If you created an ABC account you may have a need to change the password on any email account you used to register.
 
This email address is visible on PasteBin - along with your location,  IP used and comment made.

You may no longer be as anonymous as you once thought, even if you used an online pseudonym.

So Internet users, like kitty who posted To love and be loved over two years ago, are now visible and vulnerable.

Tuesday 18 October 2011

Saffin encourages increasing awareness of identity fraud


Media release from the Federal Member for Page on the NSW North Coast:

Page MP Janelle Saffin is encouraging people in her electorate to gauge how well they protect their identity, during National Identity Fraud Awareness Week which runs from 17-23 October 2011. 

“Our community needs to realise just how serious identity crime is and to understand the devastating effects it can have on an individual’s life,” Ms Saffin said.

A survey is available on the Australian Federal Police website as an innovative way of educating the general public on importance of being aware of identity crime.

The survey covers safety tips such as checking ATMs for any signs of tampering before using, shredding bank statements and other documents instead of putting them in the recycling bin, and deleting spam emails from the deleted email folder. 

 “This survey allows members of the public to test how vulnerable they are to identity crime and take remedial measures if they need to,” Ms Saffin said. 

“Many local people contact me about receiving unsolicited phone calls and emails claiming to be from the Australian Tax Office or other Government office seeking bank account details or other personal information.

“I can confirm that no Government department will ever ask people to offer confidential identity or financial information over the telephone.”  said Ms. Saffin.

“I encourage people interested in taking steps to protect their identity to complete the short survey and to also report any suspicious phone calls or contact to SCAMwatch.”


To find out more about identity fraud scams and how you can protect yourself from identity crime, visit SCAMwatch or call 1300 795 995.

Wednesday 3 August 2011

More on identity theft - a warning about a so-called ATO website

A scam email doing the rounds again purports to be from the Australian Tax Office.

The email states:

"Subject: Please submit your tax refund
After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund . Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-6 days in order to process it.
See your refund status by downloading attachment."

The email's attachment leads to a webpage that looks very much like an official ATO page, but it's not! The page seeks tax file numbers, date of birth and other personal details.

Details about the sender of the email are linked to the e address info@stout-associates.com