The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Targeting Scams report has revealed that Indigenous Australians who fell victim to scams in 2017 lost $1.7 million, an average of nearly $6,500 each and a 14 per cent increase on 2016.
Deputy Chair of the ACCC, Delia Rickard said the Commission’s Scamwatch website received 1,810 scam reports in 2017, a figure that “had never been higher”.
“The scam reported most by Indigenous people was unexpected prize and lottery scams (194 reports), while victims of dating and romance scams reported the most losses at $746,790,” Ms Rickard said.
She said Indigenous people should also be wary of online shopping scams and investment scams.
“Nearly one in every two Indigenous people who reported one of these scams to the ACCC lost money,” Ms Rickard said.
“These scams are very convincing which makes them hard to spot. In the case of online shopping scams, the scammer creates a very believable looking online store purporting to sell well-known products at great prices.”
She said it always paid to do a Google search about an online store before making a purchase to see if it might be a scam site.
“Scammers are very good at what they do,” Ms Rickard said.
“They will commonly pretend to be from Government Agencies and threaten you with arrest, or say you’ve received an increase in your benefits, to get your money and personal information.
“Never give them this personal information; any of your banking details; or remote access to your computer.”
She advised everyone to contact the agency they say they’re from directly to see if they’re telling the truth. This can be done by finding the agency’s phone number in the phone book or an online search.
Ms Rickard said that to help reduce the impact of scams on Indigenous peoples, the ACCC had engaged in targeted scams awareness outreach in nine Indigenous communities across the Northern Territory.
“Since the outreach we have seen a reduction of funds sent from these communities to overseas scammers of 40 per cent,” she said.
The ACCC’s 53-page Targeting Scams report can be accessed at this PS News link.
