05 January 2012
Peter Garrett AM
Federal Member for Kingsford Smith
Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth
The Federal Member for Kingsford Smith, Peter Garrett, this week warned the residents of Kingsford Smith to be aware of the dangers of scams.
“My electorate office frequently gets calls from residents who have been targeted by scammers offering ‘easy money’ opportunities.
“A concerned resident rang my office this week to alert us that he had received numerous cold calls from someone claiming to be from the ‘Australian Government Grants Department’.
“The persistent caller was offering the man and his wife a grant of thousands of dollars but required payment of 5 per cent to begin processing the grant,” Mr Garrett said.
A wide range of scams exist from the ‘Nigerian’ money transfer scam to phoney bank email alerts to missed mobile phone calls to identity theft.
Last year, the Federal Government warned Australians approaching retirement age about investment scams from international organised criminals attracted to the high levels of superannuation and retirement savings in Australia.
The best way to avoid being scammed is to be aware of the possibility and be armed with strategies to protect yourself.
For example, the Federal Government’s Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) suggests the following questions for a cold caller offering a high return but unrealistic investment:
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What is the name of your company?
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Who owns your company?
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What is your business address?
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Do you have an Australian Financial Services licence?
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What is your Australian Financial Services licence number?
“Scammers are constantly working out new ways to get people to part with their money or personal information and I urge the residents of Kingsford Smith to be alert to the existence of scammers,” Mr Garrett said.
The ACCC has a SCAMwatch website which is a great resource to stay informed about existing scams and how to avoid becoming a victim.
More information