The Federal Trade Commission in American have begun alerting residents to a new scam. Callers are pretending to be with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) and according to reports, are telling people they may be entitled to money. , Queensland Police say>
Callers ask people for their personal information to determine if they are eligible and are currently using "spoofed" phone numbers with New York area codes. They are asking for information ranging from Social Security numbers, mailing addresses, and bank account numbers to medical histories and proof of whether a person worked in the 9/11 exposure zone.
Why are we making you aware of a scam currently affecting US residents? Well, spoofed phone numbers are becoming more and more common here in Australia as well.
"The concern for us is that we have become accustomed to being wary of numbers that we don’t recognise or that have an international prefix. People are more trusting of phone numbers that appear local.
"This is just another example of scammers constantly changing and adapting their scams in an attempt to fool us. Never before has it been more important to be on your guard and to clarify and confirm any call, text, email or letter that asks you for information," Detective Senior Constable Andrew Browne of the Financial and Cyber Crime Group said.
If you receive a phone and are asked for your personal and financial detail, just hang up. If you think the call may have been legitimate, consider contacting the organisation yourself, using contacted details from a trusted source, like the phone book.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using the online form 24hrs per day.
You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers.
