Privacy Awareness Week
Australian consumers are increasingly using the web for socialising and connecting, as well as indulging in the global shopping experience that the Internet can offer. Unfortunately scammers like shopping online for victims too.
National Consumer Fraud Week 2016 (16th - 20st May) is an education and awareness campaign run by the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce.
The campaign this year is featuring the theme ‘Wise up to scams’ to raise awareness of scams and help Australians recognise and avoid being duped by a scammer.
It’s also a message Bank of Melbourne constantly promotes in raising peoples’ awareness of how to combat online fraud and scams, by doing things like:
- Thinking twice – You have been advised that you won a foreign lotto but didn’t enter it, remember the old saying “You’ve got to be in it to win it!”
- Protecting your identity – your personal details are private and invaluable; keep them safe and away from scammers. Don’t use emailed links to access your banking, always type bankofmelbourne.com.au into your browser.
- Check out the person, are they really who they say they are? Scammers will go to great lengths to create heart breaking, appealing or compelling stories in order to trick you into giving them your money, your personal information or even access to your computer. One way you can check is to Google the scam; this can help you find out if they are legitimate, or if others have experienced a similar incident.
- Don’t let perfect strangers remotely access your computer – Now that we are starting to recognise email scams, fraudsters are trying to sell you more convincing stories, like accessing your computer from their remote location to assist in resolving an issue that you are not aware of. The Fraudster is ultimately trying to capture your banking and personal details. If you receive a call like this, just hang up.
- Only pay via secure payment methods - look for a web address starting with ‘https’ and a closed padlock symbol. Never use a wire transfer service to send money to anyone you do not know or trust, and do not share your financial details with anyone.
To stay one click ahead, visit the Australian Government's SCAMwatch website and get the latest types of scams targeting Australian consumers and small business. You can find out:
Check out Fraud Week 2016 for more information.
Stay Smart Online is an Australian government initiated alert service which is a free service to internet users who wish to receive information regarding the latest scams or online threats targeting Australian consumers. Sign up to their alert service today.