Gone Phishing - The Top Scams

Written on the 23 August 2013

 

Every year, thousands of people are caught by scams.   A recent Australian Competition & Consumer Commission report stated that in 2012, Australians reported losing over $93m – that’s just the people who reported the scam.

From the ATO
The ATO has issued a warning about a new phishing email scam.

Pretending to be from the ATO, the email claims that the recipient is entitled to a tax refund and states they should click the embedded link and complete the online form.  The link however takes users to a fake webpage that attempts to obtain your tax file number.

The ATO will never email you asking for personal or credit card details. 

This latest scam is just one of many.  In another scam, an email purporting to be from the ATO asks the recipient to complete a form attached to the email to receive a tax refund.  If opened, the attached zip file releases a virus.

Not the Yellow Pages
An old scam has resurfaced recently asking business operators to confirm Yellow Page Australia (notice it’s not Yellow Pages) and Open Business Directory listings.  What appears to be a confirmation of contact details from Sensis Yellow Pages is actually an agreement to sign up to the directory for $99 per month for a minimum of 2 years. 

In 2011, the Federal Court imposed penalties totalling $2.7m on two overseas companies, Yellow Page Marketing and Yellow Publishing Limited for misleading thousands of businesses into thinking they were dealing with real Sensis Yellow Pages. 

Money mules – fake jobs and romance
Money mules are middlemen for stolen funds and usually receive a small commission on the transferred funds.  They receive the funds into their account and then transfer them to another account.

Money mules are generally recruited through job advertisements offering quick commissions, or through romance scams where singles are asked to receive money with the promise of romance. 

Not your bank
A phone call from the Australian Bankers Association might be following through to refund overcharged bank fees or completing a customer satisfaction survey.  Both are scams starting with a few basic questions before delving into collect your personal information.