Common Scams Holidays 2024/2025

Summer holidays are a great time of year for catching up with friends and family.  It’s also a great time for scammers to try and lure us into giving them our hard-earned money.

The following are a few tips to help avoid becoming a victim.

Scam Watch

The Australian government has a great site that provides excellent information and tips.

https://www.scamwatch.gov.au

Basic Rules to Stay Safe

·         No genuine company will ask you to pay by gift cards or international wire transfer.  The reason they do this is because the money can be recouped if they use Australian banks.

·         If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

·         Anyone in Australia providing financial advice or trading shares needs to be licensed.  Ask for the license details and search independently to verify.

·         Don’t be intimidated by scammers into following their instructions.  Scammers will often threaten potential victims with police or fines in the hope or scaring people into complying.

·         Go directly to the company website to verify the information there.  With an Australia Post account, you can register your addresses and any issues with deliveries will be visible there.

·         Never click a link in an email or text message unless you are expecting the communication.

·         Ask to phone a person back if they are claiming to be from your bank, electricity provider, or any other organisation.  Ask for their extension and look up the real number for the company.

Common Scams Summer 2024-2025

Fake Delivery and Toll Scams

With Christmas present buying, Boxing Day sales, and an increase in driving over the holiday period, these scams are on the rise.  Usually received as text messages or email, they rely on you to use the link in the message to go on to their spoofed website.

Delivery Scam

Toll Scam

Make sure you log on to your account yourself by typing in the address in a browser –https://auspost.com.au or https://www.linkt.com.au/ - for example.

Fake Online Stores

These may fall under the “too good to be true” category.  Often fake online stores will discount popular items to levels that make them attractive but still potentially realistic.

Search the company name and look for reviews from reputable sites like Product Review.

PayID Scams

Common on eBay, Facebook marketplace, and Gumtree, the seller or buyer insists on using PayID that leaves you vulnerable to several scams.

By using PayID your email address and/or phone number are accessible to the other party.

PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc will keep your details and your card details away from prying eyes.

Ticket Reselling

With an increase in events during this time of year tickets are often hotly sort after and can sell out quickly.  It’s too easy to list tickets for sale that do not exist or lure you into the PayID type of scam.

The safest thing to do is use an official reseller site such as Ticketek marketplace which ensure the tickets are real and the seller has verified some of their details.

Education Scams

A number of education scams have started appearing. These include fake diplomas, scholarship and loan scams, and fake online courses and certifications.

If you are thinking of taking on any online training, make sure it is a Registered Training Organisation. This can be checked on the ASQA web site https://www.asqa.gov.au/.

Some industry certifications may be international. The best way to verify these is to verify the organisation is legitimate, and if they are purporting to be from a certain company, go to the company website directly to find the course.

Stay safe everyone.  If you do have issues or questions, please feel free to contact us.  See https://andersonhometech.com.au for more information.