The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has warned wealthy Australians to beware of a fraudulent telephone and email scam aimed particularly at them.
In its warning the AFP said callers identified themselves as officials from the Department of Defence and described a fictitious scenario in which they were seeking to borrow large sums of money on behalf of the Australian Government to secure the release of an Australian diplomat who had been kidnapped by people seeking a ransom.
“The caller states Australian Government policy prevents payment to kidnappers, and therefore the Department of Defence was seeking to borrow the funds, which would be repaid by Treasury,” the AFP said.
“Bank account details are then forwarded via email to the targeted individual to facilitate the transfer of money.”
It said the circumstances were fictitious and were part of a known scam being facilitated by entities based in foreign countries.
“Wealthy Australians identified by the scammers through public information have been targeted,” the AFP said.
“The AFP advises anyone who receives an approach like this not to respond or engage in any telephone calls, emails or contacts.”
It said that anyone who believed they had been contacted or wee a victim of the scam should contact Scamwatch at www.scamwatch.gov.au.
