Scams Archives - Page 10 of 14 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

19 May , 2020

Scammers use COVID-19 to take advantage of consumers across Australia

Scamwatch has received over 2000 coronavirus-related scam reports with over $700 000 in reported losses since the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Common scams include phishing for personal information, online shopping, and superannuation scams. Visit Scamwatch for details on how scammers target consumers and tips to protect yourself. If you have been scammed or have seen…

8 May , 2020

Consumers urged to look out for employment opportunity scams in the wake of COVID-19

The Queensland Office of Fair Trading warns of employment opportunity scams in the following media release. COVID-19 has unleashed literally hundreds of scams across Australia and the next ones the Queensland Office of Fair Trading wants consumers to watch out for are employment opportunity scams. Fair Trading Executive Director Brian Bauer said scammers hiding behind…

14 April , 2020

UNCTAD calls for firmer action to better protect consumers during COVID-19

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released the following statement, calling for authorities to do more to moniter and act on unfair business practices and criminal activities exploiting fears over the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic has opened the floodgates of unfair, misleading and abusive business practices, hitting consumers hard and…

6 April , 2020

Scammers targeting superannuation in COVID-19 crisis

Scammers are now trying to exploit Australians financially impacted by the COVID-19 crisis with new superannuation scams being reported to Scamwatch in recent weeks. Scammers are already trying to take advantage of the Government’s recent announcement that people suffering financial hardship can have partial access to their superannuation from mid-April. “Scammers are cold-calling people claiming…

20 March , 2020

Warning on COVID-19 scams

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. Since 1 January 2020, the ACCC’s Scamwatch has received 94 reports of scams about coronavirus, but warns figures are starting to climb. Scamwatch has received multiple reports of phishing scams…

6 March , 2020

Scammers exploit payment loophole on PayPal

Concert-goers are being warned to avoid paying for tickets via PayPal using the ‘friends and family’ function, as these transactions are not covered by the financial service’s buyer protection policy. The warning comes as Consumer Protection has received numerous complaints from Western Australians unable to retrieve their money after using this function to transfer funds…

20 December , 2019

ACMA reveals top 5 most reported phone scams for 2019

The Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) has today released a list of the top five phone scams most commonly reported to the agency in a bid to raise people’s awareness of scams during the Christmas period. NBN impersonations were revealed as by far the most reported scam for 2019, followed by scammers pretending to…

29 November , 2019

ACMA recommends immediate action to combat scams

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released its Combating Scams report which recommends new enforceable obligations on telcos and the immediate commencement of trials for a number of scam reduction initiatives. The trials aims to reduce common phone scams such as malicious ‘spoofing’, where scammers disguise their number to make it look like…

25 November , 2019

ACCC warns of increase in online shopping scams

Australians have already lost more money to online shopping scams in 2019 than in the entire previous year, and Scamwatch is warning people to be cautious of online shopping scams in the lead up to the holiday season. So far in 2019, reported losses from online shopping scams are over $4 million, well in excess…

30 October , 2019

Health insurers are scamming Australians with high-cost plus policies

CHOICE research has discovered that Australians purchasing some Silver Plus health insurance policies are losing hundreds of dollars every year. The research follows CHOICE slamming the industry for rip-off Basic policies earlier this year. “Health insurers are scamming Australians with high-cost plus policies,” says Dean Price, Health Campaigner at CHOICE. “We’ve found over 215 Silver…

13 August , 2019

Record losses expected as scammers target Australians

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. This year’s National Scams Awareness Week (12-16 August) theme is “too smart…

30 April , 2019

Scams cost Australians half a billion dollars

Australians lost almost half a billion dollars to scammers in 2018 according to the latest figures in the ACCC’s Targeting Scams report released today. “Total combined losses reported to Scamwatch and other government agencies exceeded $489 million – $149 million more than 2017,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said. “And these record losses are likely just the tip…