The National Fraud Center is urging Australians who have had their money stolen by scammers to be wary of cash-back offers.
Reports that include a money recovery element are on the rise. Between December 2023 and May 2024, Scamwatch received 158 reports with total losses of more than $2.9 million, including losses from the original scam.
The number of reports increased by 129% compared to the previous half, but financial losses decreased by 29% from $4.1 million.
Victims of previous scams are easily tracked down by criminals who usually keep and sell information about people who have been taken advantage of.
Australians aged 65 and over were the largest reference group and suffered the highest average losses.
Many scammers promise victims that they can recover their losses for an upfront payment. However, even legitimate fraud investigation services are rarely able to recover money for fraud victims. The National Fraud Center does not recommend that victims of fraud become involved with services or individuals that claim to be able to recover stolen money. Victims are encouraged to report the fraud to the police and contact their financial institution.
Continued fraud losses highlight the importance of introducing mandatory industry codes as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, most money stolen by criminals is moved offshore very quickly making recovery of funds difficult. The National Fraud Center considers that compensation will be an appropriate and necessary part of external dispute resolution where a business fails to meet its legal obligations under the proposed mandatory codes.
Criminals contact victims who pose as trustworthy parties, such as a government agency, cybersecurity organization, fund recovery agency, lawyer, consumer advocacy group, or charity. They may use email, phone calls, mobile apps, social media or text to contact victims.
In some cases, victims first encounter criminals through an ad on social media or by searching the internet.
Criminals tell victims that they can recoup their losses either with an advance, a percentage of the lost funds, or a tax payment. They even tell victims that they can track down lost cryptocurrencies.
Criminals request the victim’s personal information under the guise of verifying their identity or creating a cryptocurrency wallet to facilitate payments from victims for their services.
Criminals can also request remote access to the victim’s devices to obtain personal information and credentials.
Criminals may also pretend to be a victim of fraud and claim that a particular person or entity has helped them recover money. They will refer victims to fake recommendations left on review sites or through direct contact with people who claim to have been scammed.
To appear legitimate, criminals may use websites that advertise their services that look professional or provide victims with detailed guides and other documents as part of the “recovery” process.
To stop. Is it a scam? Building our defenses with a sense of deception
Follow these steps to protect yourself from scams:
If you’ve been scammed in the past and you see an ad or someone contacts you with an offer to help you recover money for a down payment, it’s a scam.
Say no, hang up, delete and block any repeat contact attempts.
Criminals pretend to be from organizations you know and trust. Verify who you are talking to by contacting the organization directly using contact information obtained from an independent source.
- Step 3: Protect yourself.
Never accept offers from anyone who contacts you and says they can get your money back. Submit all requests to recover your money to your financial institution and report to the police.
Do not give financial, cryptocurrency or account information or copies of your identification documents to anyone online you have never met in person.
Never give strangers remote access to your computer even if they claim to be legitimate.
Only use lawyers who are registered with the official Law Society or Bar Association in your state.
If a criminal has your money or personal information:
Call your bank immediately using a number from your banking app or on your bank card.
Contact IDCARE for support on 1800 595 160.
If, after contacting your financial institution, you are not satisfied with their response, you can lodge a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA – www.afca.org.au). AFCA provides consumers and small businesses with fair, free and independent resolution of financial complaints.