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There are currently a wide range of appeals raising funds for people and animals affected by the bushfires. Unfortunately, some of these are scams.
Australians are set to lose a record amount to scams in 2019, with projections from losses reported to Scamwatch and other government agencies so far expected to exceed $532 million by the end of the year, surpassing half a billion dollars for the first time.
Scams reported to the ACCC involving identity theft or the loss of personal/banking information have cost Australians at least $16 million this year, and this figure is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg.
Australians are losing more money to NBN scams, with reported losses in 2019 already higher than the total of last year’s losses.
Scammers are increasingly using fake charities or impersonating real charities to take advantage of people’s generosity and compassion, with losses reported to the ACCC’s Scamwatch increasing steadily over the past four years.
Scammers are increasingly catching out people by impersonating well-known businesses or the police so they can get access to computers and steal money or banking information.
SCAMwatch is encouraging Australians who are considering donating to bushfire appeals to make sure they double check whether the appeal or its organisers are legitimate so that their generosity reaches victims, not scammers.
SCAMwatch is warning Australians to be wary of scammers looking to take advantage of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy by setting up fake Facebook pages in the name of victims of the tragedy.
SCAMwatch and Telstra are warning consumers to hang up the phone if they receive a call out of the blue from someone claiming there is a problem with their internet connection or computer.
SCAMwatch is warning people thinking about buying a franchise or small business to beware of exciting new franchise opportunities that may actually be scams.