Spam emails offering an enticing part-time, work-from-home income of $5,000 per month have begun to appear in Australian email inboxes.
While these emails may 'wish this message finds you in a great mood', they falsely say that your contact details have been taken from a list 'affiliated' with a nonexistent 'Australian Chamber of Commerce'.
In order to give a scam an air of credibility it is common for quasi-official sounding, but completely bogus names to be used. In this case the true organisation's name is the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The part time job of a 'Junior Financial Manager', as advertised on the website linked to the email, involves transferring money and the clearing of funds. Far from being endorsed by a genuine organisation such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, these types of promotions are usually a front for money laundering.
Money laundering is illegal in Australia, so becoming involved by taking up such offers could result in a visit from the police or your bank account being frozen.
If you have concerns and believe that you are involved with a similar scheme, contact your bank or financial institution to discuss the matter.
Avoid getting caught:
- don't follow the links in any email – this could result in computer viruses or unwanted downloads such as spyware
- don't respond – this only confirms that your email address is active, possibly resulting in more spam
- report the matter if you wish* and then,
- delete, delete, delete!
Find out more about work from home scams and scams that involve transferring money for someone else.
*Where to report scams and spam
To report spam – contact the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
To report a scam – visit the SCAMwatch Report a scam page.
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