Nearly 6000 businesses reported being targeted by scams in 2016 according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Targeting Scams report, with losses totalling around $3.8 million, an increase of almost 31 per cent.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is warning online shoppers to be wary of scammers masquerading as legitimate online retailers, often selling well-known brands at too-good-to-be-true prices.
The ACCC is warning people to be wary of scammers when looking for romance online with social media now the most common method scammers use to contact potential victims.
Consumers have reported receiving emails from the 'Australian Office of Fair Trading'. There is no such organisation, and the email's attachment contains a virus.
Scams target you - Protect your computer is the latest message from the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce. Your computer can be attacked by phishing scams, spam, dodgy 'pop-ups' or malware – and you may not even realise it!