Scams To Watch Out For

SCAMS

to look out for in the NEW YEAR

Words Georgie Arnaud

It’s a new year and we all want to start strong. Don’t let scammers ruin your New Year's resolutions and bring negativity into your new year. The ideal way to start your year fresh and financially ready is to relax into it, without any pressures or stresses. So, in order to make sure you don’t start your year at a disadvantage, we’ve researched the most prevalent scams to keep an eye out for at the moment.

Have you been asked to pay a debt with gift cards? Typically, someone receives a call from a scammer pretending to be ATO or Federal Police requesting payment of an overdue tax or fine.

GIFT CARD SCAMS

The scammer will ask to be paid by gift card. Gift cards are untraceable which is why scammers will use them as an opportunity to take advantage of your savings without any traceable evidence of the crime.

The most common form of gift card payment requested by scammers has been iTunes cards but they could also ask for Google Play, Steam cards, Amazon, Go Prepaid debit cards, Australia Post Load, or any other form of gift card.

HOT TIP: Remember the ATO or Federal Police will never ask you to pay your tax or fines using gift cards.

CASH SAVINGS SCAM

A Saving Challenge has been circulating social media platforms, where followers were asked to withdraw a certain amount of cash for example $20 or $50 per week for 52 weeks and put the cash into a clear plastic bag to watch the savings grow. The scammer would send a weekly reminder to withdraw the cash, which acts to builds trust. At the 52-week mark followers were asked to post a photo of the bag of cash.

Another scam similar to this is the 100-day envelope challenge, where people were asked to put money into to an envelope each day for 100 days to see how much they could save and then post a photo of the end product.

Anyone who doesn’t understand how to manage their personal data, privacy, or security on social channels are setting themselves up to be robbed. Very personal information from social media accounts can surprisingly be obtained easily by scammers, including financial or IP address details. They may even work out where you live from your social posts.

HOT TIP: Become familiar with your privacy settings and check regularly for changes particularly with platform updates. It’s great to make a resolution to be more charitable with the beginning of the New Year. We all know it takes a village to raise a child and the sight of a malnourished child certainly draws on the heart strings. But do you really know who is getting that money?

Projects aren’t always what they might seem and the campaign organizer may just be trying to use generous people for their own financial gain. Scammer creators of charitable projects will often be vague about where money donations are going and how much money they actually require to run the project. They will also commonly promise an outcome that seems way too good to be true. They will use fake imagery to advertise the cause which can be identified by searching online.

The best way to identify a Crowd Funding Scam is to research the project and the creator before you donate, as well as read many reviews or comments from previous donators.

CROWD FUNDING SCAMS

HOT TIP: Before your make that donation, check out the Australian Business Register at www.abr. gov.au or the Australian Charities Register at www.acnc.gov.au to make sure the campaign is for an Australian Charity.

Scammers will continue to take any opportunity to sneak up and take advantage of innocent people. So, let’s all take care of ourselves and ensure we aren’t giving away our hard-earned savings to the wrong people. These are just a few of the scams to look out for when starting your new financial year, so keep a wary eye out for anything else out of the ordinary.