Scam Awareness Week runs from 27 November to 1 December and this year, Victorians are being urged to be on the lookout for impersonation scams to avoid handing over their hard-earned money to fraudsters.
Impersonation scams use your trust in people or organisations to agree to requests you normally wouldn't. These scammers pretend to be trusted brands, recruiters and government organisations - even friends or family - to steal personal information and money.
Common warning signs to look out for with impersonation scams include:
- You may be contacted unexpectedly and pressured into doing something quickly, like making an urgent payment online
- You may be enticed to click on a link where you are prompted to upgrade or log in to something - this gets you to install malware software to steal your information
- You may be told you will be in serious trouble unless you make the payment immediately, or
- You may be asked to provide your account details via email.
If you are unsure, call the relevant organisation on the number listed on the genuine website. Genuine organisations will be professional in their interactions and will not threaten legal action or arrest if you cannot pay.
How scam savvy are you?
Test your knowledge of common online scams and see how you can protect yourself from being scammed with the Consumer Affairs Victoria scam quiz.
Stop. Think: Who's really there?
Next time you receive a call, text or email that asks for sensitive information or doesn't seem right, STOP and THINK - who's really there? And always report scams to scamwatch.vic.gov.au.
Information in this article was taken from the Australian Government Scam Watch website and Consumer Affairs Victoria.
