Be wary of flood scams
Thursday 27 January 2011In the past few months Australia has seen a number of floods that have affected families and businesses. As a result, there are many organisations calling for donations and offering clean-up assistance.
Whether your business is considering donating to assist people in the flood-affected regions of Australia, or if you are one of those flood-affected, be aware of potential scams.
Donating
If you're planning to donate, make sure you confirm the charity's details. Some of the signs a charity may not be real can include:
- you haven't heard of the charity before
- the scam operates via a fake website which is a close replica of a legitimate charity site
- face-to-face collectors don't have any identification or carry forged identification
- the collector doesn't want to provide a receipt, or the receipt doesn't have the charity's details on it.
Repairs and cleaning scams
If you are flood-affected, be wary of people who offer to repair damage or provide cleaning services and demand payment in advance. This can be a sign that they will take your money but not complete the work.
Email, text message and phone scams
If you receive unsolicited emails, text messages or phone calls from someone offering to help you claim assistance from the government and asking for your bank details, take a moment to check the source of the information.
Look out for details such as:
- messages coming from or containing unknown or unusual email addresses and telephone numbers
- messages containing spelling errors or poor grammar
- requests to wire money or donate by way of money transfer.
Information on current scams
For more information on current spam scams, visit the Australian Communications and Media Authority Spam website.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC's) SCAMwatch website provides information on flood charity scams as well as other common scams.
For more information on scams and what to do if you think you have been scammed visit the SCAMwatch website or phone the ACCC Infocentre on 1300 795 995.
