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.

Adding to our NBN blues now come the scams

ACC, ScamWatch, 22 August 2017:

Watch out for NBN scams

The ACCC is warning the community that scammers are pretending to be from NBN to con victims out of their money and personal information.

Scamwatch has received 316 complaints this year about scammers impersonating NBN with nearly $28,000 reported lost.

“Scammers are increasingly using trusted government brands like NBN to trick people into falling for scams. Their goal is always to either get hold of your money or personal information,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.

The three common scams reported to Scamwatch that involve scammers impersonating NBN are:

signing victims up to fake accounts – scammers will ring victims to ‘connect’ them to the NBN network for a low price. They will often demand payment be made through iTunes gift cards

gaining remote access to computers – scammers pretending to be from NBN will call a victim with claims there are problems with their computer. The scammer uses this ruse to gain remote access to the victim’s computer to steal valuable personal information, install malicious software or demand payment to fix ‘problems’ they have discovered

phishing – scammers impersonating NBN will call victims to steal valuable personal information like their name, address, Medicare number, licence number. The scammer may tell the victim they’re entitled to a new router, for example, and say they need these personal details to confirm the victim’s identity.

“Australians over 65 are particularly vulnerable to this scam with fraudsters using phone calls to target their victims,” Ms Rickard said.

“NBN will never phone you out of the blue to try to sign you up to a service over its network. NBN is a wholesaler meaning they don’t sell direct to the public. If you get an unsolicited call like this, it’s a big red flag that you’re dealing with a scammer,” Ms Rickard said.

“NBN will also never call you to remotely ‘fix’ a problem with your computer, or to request personal information like your Medicare number or your bank account numbers. Don’t listen to the reasons they give you for needing this information.”

“Finally, if someone ever asks you to pay for a service using iTunes gift cards, it is 100 per cent a scam. Legitimate businesses, especially those like NBN, will never ask you to pay for anything in this way,” Ms Rickard said.

People can protect themselves by following some tips:

If you’re ever in doubt about contact you’ve had from someone saying they’re from NBN trying to sell you an internet or phone service, hang up the phone and call your retail service provider to check if the person calling is a fraud.

You can only connect to the NBN network by purchasing a plan through a phone and internet service provider. Go to NBN’s website(link is external) to check if your home or business address is able to connect to the NBN network and see which phone and internet providers are available in your area.

Never give your personal, credit card or online account details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source.

Never give an unsolicited caller remote access to your computer.

If you think you have provided bank account or credit card details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

People can also follow @Scamwatch_gov(link is external) on Twitter and subscribe to Scamwatch radar alerts to get up-to-date warnings.

Yet another telephone scam

A caller rang yesterday and told me that someone at my address had been in a motor vehicle accident in the last three years and ever so kindly said he would do his utmost to assist me in so many ways.

I asked the caller to tell me the name of the organisation that was going out of its way to assist me and the caller said he was from Accident Help Services in Fairfield.

Sadly (for the caller, who was by then my very next best friend), I had to tell him that he was barking up the wrong tree because no one at my address had been in a motor vehicle accident. I didn't mince words when I told him what I though about him and his scam.

The caller must have been very disappointed that he couldn't 'help' me because he very rudely terminated the call.