The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched a podcast series for this year’s National Scams Awareness Week (17-21 August) to provide Australians with tips on how to protect their personal and financial details from scammers.
The Commission said the five-episode podcast series,This Is Not Your Life was a parody on the TV show This Is Your Life and contained advice on how to avoid a scammer stealing someone’s identity.
ACCC said Scamwatch had received 24,000 reports of stolen personal information this year alone, an increase of 55 per cent compared with the same time last year.
Deputy Chair of ACCC, Delia Rickard said there had been a sharp increase in scammers seeking personal information during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Personal information, such as bank and superannuation details or passwords, are extremely valuable and scammers will try to steal them for their own financial gain,” Ms Rickard said.
“Our increased use of technology has created more opportunities for them to do so,” she said.
Ms Rickard said phishing scams, the most common form of scam, were up by 44 per cent compared with the same time last year.
“Scammers pretend to be from government departments and businesses, like the ATO, myGov, Telstra or the NBN, to gain bank account details and other information about a person that can be used to impersonate them,” she said.
“Scam victims who have lost personal information are vulnerable to further scams, fraud or identity theft.”
The Commission’s This Is Not Your Life podcast can be accessed on the Scamwatch website at this PS News link. Note this has sound!