With so many scams out there, especially now as we face the end of the financial year and the pinned “How to spot a tax scam” post being nearly a year old, I’m going to pin this thread as a place to share advice regarding scams or any new scams you might have noticed.
This isn’t to say not to post scam related stuff in the main community but to create a place to keep track of scam related stuff which might get washed away over time.
The toll bill one seems quite common at the moment, so look out for that if you’re in a state where it’s relevant.
Also, go straight to your tag providers website by typing it in your browser, don’t follow any links in the message or email.
Anyone on Gumtree who asks you to email them instead of the app, or seems too eager to pay is a scammer.
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Counter argument, harder to have your kidneys stolen via post /s
Gumtree is really best for stuff you really don’t care about if it is broken or lost. Because the item might just work enough to pass a cursury inspection, but is otherwise broken.
@CameronDev On gumtree I generally stop every text conversation after the first two or three messages with “I don’t have time to exchange texts, and I have two other people texting me. Just call me if you’re serious. My number is XX”. About 5% of people call and they’re always polite genuine buyers/sellers. I don’t bother with email or messages with anonymous people when it comes to discussing sales and transactions.
I think that would relegate me to the 95%, I don’t really want to call anyone :D But it doesn’t scream “SCAM” the same way “please email me all the information that is right here in the ad” does.
@CameronDev Yeah it’s unfortunate. There’s no good solution I’ve found to sort genuine people from time wasters and scammers. I have so many people string along for hours with text messages and then end up wanting to do a bank transfer or have me send something somewhere or their brother will drop something off. It’s hard to sift the genuine from the dodgy. If i manage to talk to someone I quickly work out if they’re realistic and serious. It’s a hard problem.
I’ll go so far as to say that you shouldn’t click any links coming from a business via text. Nor should you call a number that starts with anything other than 1300 (again, if solicited by text). Go directly to the banking app or mygov and call the number on the contact/support page.
If the fraud department rings then get the name of the caller, hang up, call the number in their app or on their site and tell them you just had a call. If they don’t know you, you just dodged a scam. Otherwise, continue and listen to them. If the fraud department thinks you’re being scammed, they’re probably right.
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The exception is courier companies, they do sometimes know your phone number and send valid SMS notifications. And its damn hard to tell the difference between legit and scam notifications.
Also auspost do send SMS if you send a parcel or give then your number for tracking.
Most companies will not text important info to you. If you get a text claiming to be from a company, email/ call that company and ask if it was them.
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Here’s a handy PDF: https://www.accc.gov.au/about-us/publications/the-little-black-book-of-scams
Two tips I can think of are:
- financial institutions never include links in emails. They ask you to search for their website and login there
- Push back against any time pressure callers make. The police are never on their way during a call with the ATO. Stay calm and say you’ll call them back. That’s the last thing scammers want because you’ll call the real ATO and the problem won’t exist.
I’ve been thinking of something for more scam conscious people as well; you’d never say a lock can’t be broken or some software can’t be hacked, we should take the same approach and think we could be scammed at any time ourselves. It’s not that we’re immune to scams, it’s that we haven’t encountered one good enough to fool us yet
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Banks will never ask you for your personal information like your address or bank details. They already know that. They are also required by law to tell you which branch they are from and their name.
