Have you ever been scammed? What Happened?
Scams Awareness Week is a timely reminder for all members of the community to know the signs of a scam and how to avoid becoming a victim of one.
Scammers are getting more sophisticated every day and you may know most of the current scams or you may have been contacted by a scammer – but chances are your parents, grandparents, neighbours or friends may not have.
By talking to each other, we can make sure no one is alone in the fight against scams. If you have identified a scam or become a victim of scam, it is important that you share your story with someone.
By sharing your scam story, you can prevent someone else from having their money or personal information taken by a scammer. Through sharing our stories about scams, we can help to prevent Queenslanders from being scammed.
New data released by the AFP-led Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3) reveals Australians reported losing at least $180 million in cryptocurrency in investments scams in just 12 months, with victims now more likely to be under the age of 50 years. Nearly half of all investment scam losses reported involve cryptocurrency.
Detectives from the Financial and Cyber Crime Group have shared two reports recently made by Queensland victims in the hope that by sharing their experiences it will help get the conversations started. The reports have been edited and sensitive information redacted for privacy reasons.
Investment Scams and Pig Butchering – Scammers use convincing marketing and new technology to make their investment sound too good to miss. They promise big pay-outs with little or no risk and often use pressure tactics to get you to act fast. Pig butchering is a tactic where scammers devote weeks or months to building a close relationship with their victims on social media or messaging apps, before encouraging them to invest in the share market, cryptocurrency, or foreign currency exchanges.
Pig Butchering – loss of $244,000.00
Report narrative:
I have fallen victim to a pig butchering scam. I was approached on facebook by a woman where we chatted for a few weeks as just friends. Talking about travel, food, and our careers and charity that she partakes in. . Our conversations became quite sincere and we got along very well, I felt chemistry and I began to trust who I was talking to. She would often casually hint in conversations about her investments but it was never something serious. Eventually the conversation turned to Crypto currency where she said she invested in it and asked if I wanted to be shown how she does it. I said sure why not, she asked me to download #### XXXXXXX from the App Store and explained it is a safe app, why would it be unsafe if it’s on the App Store. Then she gave me an address for a #### to run in the ##### #######browser, further ensuring it is safe and no one can touch my funds. It started off with me putting in $1000 to see how it goes. She showed me how to trade and I could see great profits. Since then I had put in my savings, then took out a loan and eventually refinanced our house. Each time I had to put in more as trading conditions changed and I need a certain amount to be able to trade. In total I had put in almost $250000 AUD. And she also gave me 140000 in crypto currency to help me reach the quota. We traded a few more times where my funds had reached about 1,300,000 USDT. She has always told me that she was also trading and hoping to make 30 million so that she can retire. She was planning to travel and she was coming to Australia first. She was going to show me her trading calculations and also show me how to returns funds to my account using the dark web to avoid taxes. Eventually I became suspicious and began to research and found out about the pig butcher scam. I got nervous, tried to send the money back… the funds have not arrived and within an hour of me trying to transfer, she blocked me on facebook.
Dating and Romance Scams – Scammers go to great lengths to convince you the relationship is real and manipulate you to give them money. Scammers will find you on social media, dating or gaming apps and websites.
Romance Scam – loss of $190,000.00
Report narrative:
We met on an online dating site called ########s dating site. It was suggested we start talking on email instead… I did give him an email I had set especially for this and not my correct email which I use for everyday communication. We had video chats where he could see me but I could not see him. I did mention I could not see him and it was not very fair that I was unable to see him. About 2-3 weeks later he said had been robbed by thugs in Malaysia where he was allegedly working. He asked for $10k to be able to pay workers, then proceeded to ask for another $5k to be able to repair a machine which had broken down. There was no evidence. At the time I had a bad feeling about this and I stated to him I hope it wasn’t scam and he stated that it wasn’t. He proceeded to ask for more money over the time… hotels and daily wages for the workers. I queried why they weren’t being paid on a weekly basis and it was said that is how they like to be paid which didn’t make any sense at all. Over a period of time there was more than $200k sent via both bank deposits and bitcoin/cyrpto. Bank a/c details were those of an agent.. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. Total $ value with these were $44k along with money sent via bitcoin/crypto which was in the area of $180k. He has residence in XXXXXXXX NSW but I do not know the address. He does however have an USA passport number XXXXXXXXXXfrom where he states he resided for some years until his wife passed away in 2013. I have ceased all communication with him since….I have copies of all transactions for bitcoin/crypto and bank deposits. This has left me in a very poor situation financially.
How to identify and avoid scams:
According to Scamwatch the most common methods scammers use to contact victims are via text messages emails and phone calls. Being aware of what is happening an applying some basic rules goes a long way to protecting yourself and your family from scams.
Here are some ways to avoid scams:
- Don’t click suspicious links
- Be cautious of people or organisations that approach you, that you have not initiated
- Don’t disclose personal information over the phone
- Don’t give remote access to your device or share your screen with someone you don’t know
- Report to ReportCyber
- Delete suspicious text messages
- Don’t feel pressured to invest. If you have any doubts, stop communicating and always get independent financial advice before you invest.
Tips for identifying scams: Treat all messages, emails and calls with caution. Always ask yourself, “Is it a scam?”. Look out for spelling mistakes, unfamiliar phone numbers or email addresses, and changes to logos. These are all often signs of a scam.
Victim reporting and support:
If you have been the victim of a cybercrime contact your financial institution immediately, and report online at www.cyber.gov.au/report
If you believe or suspect your identification has been compromised contact IDCARE for advice and support at www.idcare.org/ or call 1800 595 160.
For online safety material, visit www.esafety.gov.au
To build your confidence and stay safe online, visitwww.beconnected.esafety.gov.au
If you, or someone you know needs help, we encourage you to contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636, who provide 24/7 support services.
Risk Warning: Cryptocurrency is a unregulated virtual notoriously volatile instrument with a high level of risk. Any news, opinions, research, data, or other information contained within this website is provided for news reporting purposes as general market commentary and does not constitute investment or trading advice.
