Police urge public to remain vigilant to scams
ACT Policing is reminding the public to remain vigilant for scams this Scams Awareness Week.
Canberrans have lost over $690 000 to scams in recent months:
- An investment scam saw a victim transfer over $650 000 over several months to an off-shore share trading company.
- A victim was defrauded of $39 000 through money transfers and gift vouchers through a series of phone calls from alleged Microsoft, Telstra and Australian Federal Police employees.
- A user of messaging application ‘WeChat’ was asked to receive two bank transfers totaling $1300 from another user, and send it on to another bank account. The victim transferred the money and never received the $1300 from the scammer.
The top 5 scams in the ACT are:
- Investments
- Threats to life, arrest or other
- Dating and romance
- Upfront payment and advanced fee fraud
- Pyramid schemes
Crime Manager Targeting, Detective Station Sergeant Harry Hains said scammers use a number of methods to target members of the community.
“Scams can happen to anyone, of any age, anywhere in the world, and we have seen this occur in the ACT quite frequently in recent months. This is alarming, and shows the importance of education and increasing awareness,” said Detective Station Sergeant Hains.
“Recently we have seen scammers hijack the email accounts of real estate agents and send clients new details for payments of large amounts of money. I encourage anyone who is paying money to a business online to confirm with the business that the account details are correct. Do this in person or over the phone before sending any money.”
“Unfortunately, scams involving financial and emotional losses are underreported. If you become a victim of a scam, contact ScamWatch and ACT Policing on 131 444 or attend a local police station to make a report.”
More information about scams can be found on the ScamWatch website.
Media enquiries
Police Media — (02) 6264 9460, act-police-media@afp.gov.au