As much as we like to think the best of people, see the best in them and trust them wholeheartedly, it’s a sad fact that we can’t always rely on this. Particularly in this day and age, we do have to beware. Namely, we have to be aware of scammers and those “genuine” calls for help. In the interest of increasing your awareness, we have compiled a list of common scams below.
Types of Scams
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Attempts to gain your personal information
Your personal information is yours alone and can only be used by you. Right? Wrong!
Scammers use all kinds of sneaky approaches to steal your personal details, and once obtained, can use your identity to commit fraudulent activities such as using your credit card and opening a bank account – Scary isn’t it? Some of their strategies include hacking, identify theft, phishing and activating remote access to your computer.
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Buying or Selling
Not every transaction is legitimate. Scammers prey on consumers and businesses that are buying or selling products and services. This can be done via classifieds, false billing, health and medical products, mobile services, online shopping and more.
This age-old phrase comes into play here: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!
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Fake Charities
Helping a charity is one of the most honourable things you can do. Unfortunately, though, fake charities do exist! Scammers are known to impersonate genuine charities and ask for donations or contact you claiming to collect money after natural disasters and other critical events. Trust your gut! If you’ve never heard of the charity before, feel pressured, or are not provided with any identification, chances are the “charity” doesn’t exist.
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Investments
Looking for a way to make some fast cash? Watch out! Scammers will prey on your motivation and enthusiasm. Common types of investment scams involve cold calls, share promotions, “hot tips” and investment seminars. If you receive a call, or repeated calls, from someone offering unsolicited advice on investments, chances are you’ve got a scammer on your hands.
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Unexpected money
Many of us, by now would have received an email telling us that the uncle we never knew about, from a place we’ve never heard of has died and left us a million dollars. To most people, such correspondence will set off alarm bells. However, scammers are getting smarter and their tactics can be quite believable. Along with inheritance scams, Nigerian scams fit into this category too. Nigerian scams involve someone overseas offering you a share in a large sum of money or a payment on the condition you help them to transfer money out of their country. While these scams originated in Nigeria, they now come from all over the world.
Trust your gut! If it seems too be good to be true, it probably is.
The warning sign: You receive a contact out of the blue asking you to ‘help’ someone from another country transfer money out of their country (e.g. Nigeria, Sierra Leone or Iraq). Even if it’s someone in America, Australia, or anywhere for that matter, never send money to someone you don’t know, no matter what they’re “promising” you.
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Unexpected winnings
Oh, my goodness, you’ve won a lottery!! But hang on, what did you actually win? Did you even enter this competition in the first place? And where is this person even from? These are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself prior to responding to any ‘winning’ notification. From scratchie scams, travel prize scams, lottery scams and more, unfortunately it’s not uncommon for people to be lured by a surprise win. The giveaway here: The competition you have so called ‘won’, was probably never entered into by you in the first place.
Don’t be scammed – Beware!
Now that you know a little bit about Australian scams, don’t be scammed – Beware! Want to find out more? The ACCC ScamWatch provides further information on all types of scams, tips, statistics and more on their website.
As much as we’d love to stop all scams at Life After Debt, it’s not possible. What is possible though, is a life after debt for you and your family. With the help of Life After Debt® in Perth and Sydney, you can reduce your debt and avoid bankruptcy with affordable, practical financial solutions, proven to relieve hardship.
We provide honest and sympathetic, without judgement, advice. Contact us today.
Help is on the end of one call.