Scams Awareness Week: Targeting impersonation scams

With most scams involving a form of impersonation, Scamwatch is warning Australians and are urging you take additional precautions towards who you’re dealing with this November.

As the national and personal cost of scams continues to skyrocket across the country, this year’s Scams Awareness Week is drawing attention to one of the most common forms of financial fraud: impersonation scams.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which runs Scamwatch and hosts the annual awareness campaign, said roughly four-in-five scams involves some form of impersonation.

As members of law enforcement, we know many of our customers have seen the devastating effects of these scams, which can include financial ruin and humiliation.

In many cases, it may be a fraudster calling, emailing or messaging, claiming to be from a legitimate agency – such as a bank, private business or government agency. Sometimes the scam messages mimic the legitimate communications of the firm they’re purporting to be from.

Impersonation scammers may also peg their scams to real events or company changes to appear more authentic. For example, the streaming platform Netflix recently tried to crack down on password sharing and enabled users to create a collection of devices using the same account, known as a ‘Netflix household’. A scam message then circulated encouraging recipients to click a link embedded in a text message to update their Netflix household. However, the link wasn’t legitimate and was instead designed to collect private information from those who clicked it.

How to spot and avoid an impersonation scam

While impersonation scams are rife, Scamwatch states there are several signs that can help you spot them. They include:

• Communications with a sense of urgency or threats; for example, ‘A payment is overdue and must be made now to avoid further action.’
• Links embedded in messages that look different to the business or agency’s website. To be safe, never click the links in messages.
• If you receive a suspicious message or call, contact the ‘sender’ through another channel, such as their website or public phone line, to confirm their identity. 
• Block and report scams, where possible, to protect others.

Ways to get involved

Scamwatch is encouraging law-enforcement officials to get involved this Scams Awareness Week by sharing messages from its social media campaign, and digital assets from its website.

Scams Awareness Week runs November 27 through December 1. For more information, visit scamwatch.gov.au/

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