The relentless attacks by scammers during lockdowns continue with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) now warning about fake police representatives attempting to con money from the public.
The AFP said its switchboard operators had received hundreds of calls in the past couple of months from people across Australia who had reported receiving calls from individuals claiming to be employed by the police.
Detective Superintendent at the AFP, Jayne Crossling said scammers were falsely identifying themselves as a Federal Agent and were telling victims they had identified suspicious activity linked to their bank accounts.
“They then request personal details including a Medicare number, address and bank details,” Detective Superintendent Crossling said.
“The AFP will never call, email or contact you via social media and threaten to arrest you, demand money or ask for personal details.”
She said scammers were also targeting people via email and social media with fake arrest warrants.
Detective Superintendent Crossling said the offenders then called their victims and demanded payments, ordering them to deposit money into a nominated bank account or purchase online vouchers.
“Sadly, some people have been manipulated by these offenders, including an elderly woman who reported that she deposited more than $16,000 into a scam bank account,” she said.
“In other cases, people have withdrawn money from their account but, fortunately, have spoken to family or friends and realised they are being scammed before handing over any funds.”
She said the calls appeared to come from a legitimate AFP number, “but we want to stress that the AFP and the Australian Government more generally will never seek payment for fines or other matters over the phone”.
“AFP employees will never ask for money transfers, Bitcoins or online vouchers such as iTunes and GooglePlay,” Detective Superintendent Crossling said.
