Scams – you haven’t seen anything yet

Scams which were once few and far between, the speciality of pencil-moustached conmen, are now rampant in the internet and mobile phone age.

Scams are becoming more sophisticated, more plausible and more damaging.

The word ‘scam’ incidentally is believed to come from ‘scamp’, meaning rascal or swindler.

Narrabri shire residents are not immune and people are still being defrauded of money or personal data.

Online scams cost Australians millions of dollars each year and anyone can be targeted – but we haven’t seen anything yet, authorities warn, with new scams emerging daily and old ‘tried and true’ ones still snaring victims.

Artifical intelligence, AI, is a new tool for the online crooks.

Scammers aim to trick you into giving them money, or financial or personal details email, text messages, phone calls or social media, and often pretend to be a person or organisation you trust which will let them access your money.

The best defense is to be wary of any ‘call to action’ – that is, a request for information or money, an official sounding threat or an urgent message that requires you to get in contact.
Common things scammers do to trick you:

In addition to exploiting security weaknesses, scammers prey on our human nature through various techniques, to prompt us to do certain things.

Authority: Is the message claiming to be from someone official, such as your bank, a government department, a utility company, your doctor or a solicitor?

Criminals pretend to be important people or organisations to trick you into doing what they want.

Urgency: Are you told that you have a limited time to respond, for example, ‘within 24 hours’ or ‘immediately’? Scammers often threaten you with fines or other negative consequences.

Emotion: Does the message make you panic, fearful, hopeful or curious? Scammers use threatening language, make false claims of support, or tease you into wanting to find out more.

Scarcity: Is the message offering something that seems too good to be true, such as money or a ‘good deal’? Fear of missing out on an opportunity can make you respond quickly.

Current events: Are you expecting to see a message like this? Scammers will exploit current news stories and events to make their claims seem more real (e.g. COVID-19).

And the perennial favourite of the crooks – a plea from one of the kids or a friend to ‘send money – I’ve lost my wallet, handbag, my phone has fallen in the sink’…etc.

See Scamwatch online for advice on what to be wary of and what to do if scammed. Scams can also be reported to the service online.

Act fast if you’ve had your personal or financial information stolen. Contact your bank or credit card provider as soon as possible and tell them to stop any transactions.