Australians should be aware scammers are adapting existing technology to play on people’s fears around coronavirus and selling products claiming to prevent or cure the virus.
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.
Australian businesses reported more than 5800 scams with losses exceeding $7.2 million in 2018, a 53 per cent increase compared to 2017, according to the ACCC’s Targeting scams report.
Scamwatch is calling on businesses to urgently review how they verify and pay accounts and invoices as reports of business email compromise (BEC) scams to Scamwatch have grown by a third this year.
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.
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, Microsoft and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) are warning Australians to continue to be wary of scam calls claiming that your computer is infected with a virus or is sending out error messages.
SCAMwatch is urging consumers to be on guard online, even when searching celebrity news items. The latest celebrity scam exploits the death of Patrick Swayze.
