Social media scammers hit Brisbane finance business

A Brisbane finance firm’s Christmas cash giveaway competition has been hit by scammers who set up a fake Facebook page to try and trick people into revealing their credit card details.

‘Tis the season for social media scammers apparently. Daniel Wessels, the founder of Brisbane-based Jacaranda Finance, says online criminals tried to take advantage of a Facebook Christmas competition his company launched on December 1.

Jacaranda’s “Jac’s Got Your Back” Christmas Giveaway offered the company’s Facebook followers the chance to win $1000 each for themselves and a mate, by tagging their mate and explaining how they’d “had their back”.

This week, Wessels learnt that someone had created a fake Jacaranda Facebook page and messaged people who’d entered the competition, telling them they’d won and requesting their credit card details.

Getting Facebook to take down the fake page took several days. “Our stringent monitoring systems meant we picked up on this scam straight away and got in touch with Facebook’s compliance team but it wasn’t until early the following week that they took the fake page down,” Wessels says. “We had to flag it as fraudulent and an infringement of Jacaranda’s copyright, via Facebook’s online system, and then wait for them to get back to us.”

Jacaranda Finance founder Daniel Wessels. Pic supplied.

TROUBLE AND STRIFE

Troubled Queensland construction company BA Murphy has abandoned millions of dollars worth of projects after its licence was suspended by the building watchdog last week.

The Sunshine Coast firm has told subbies it is exiting all its commercial projects including townhouse developments in Brisbane, Caloundra and Sippy Downs.

BA Murphy, founded by third-generation builder Ben Murphy in 2015, is arranging for developers to take over the sites and “working out what needs to be done to complete the projects.” Industry sources say the company could owe up to $3m.

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) pulled BA Murphy’s licence last week after complaints it was notpaying subbies.

The firm has reportedly stopped work on a number of projects around south-east Queensland after running into financial difficulties.

Projects affected include Stockland Aura’s 27-unit townhouse at Baringa, the luxury two-storey development Luciana at St Luciaand the Hentley unit development at Sippy Downs.

According to QBCC records, BA Murphy completed 98 projects worth $30.7m in 2020/21 and 100 jobs worth more than $27.5m the previous year.

BA Murphy has walked away from Stockland's Baringa project

A Stockland spokesperson says BA Murphy would be unable to complete a small number of contracted home building projects at Baringa, near Caloundra.

“This will impact and delay a small number of homes within Stockland’s Baringa Townhomes project at Aura,” the spokesperson says. “We have advised impacted customers and are actively working with alternative builders to deliver incomplete homes assoon as practical.”

Ben Murphy said BA Murphy remained committed to “delivering outcomes for our clients” but declined to comment on the financialtroubles of the business.

“While our business obviously faces the same challenges as others within our industry, BA Murphy is focused on meeting ourbusiness commitments,” says Murphy.

Interior of one of the unfinished townhouses at Baringa

KING BUY

Culture Kings founder Simon Beard and venture capital firm Sprint have invested in Brisbane-based fintech startup Youpay.

Youpay allow shoppers to send their online cart to another person with a single click using the app allowing friends and family to buy desired gifts for them online.

That is a solution that can reduce the massive waste of unwanted Christmas presents and US$39 trillion per year in abandoned cart missed sales.

An abandoned cart occurs when a customer adds an item to their cart and doesn’t follow through with a purchase possibly because of shipping costs.

In 2020, retail e-commerce sales worldwide amounted to US$4.28 trillion, and e-retail revenues are projected to grow to US$5.4 trillion in 2022. Yet 88 percent of carts are abandoned, totalling US$39 trillion per year in missed sales.

Beard, who was one of the early adopters of Buy Now Pay Later, says YouPay provided a solution to a common frustration for merchants and the consumers.

“With more than $1 million of goods left in abandoned carts each day, we were looking for a simple yet effective solution that would not only reduce this, but make it easier for our customers to be able to share their cart as opposed to sending a link to someone and hoping they select the right size and colour,” he said. “People can now share carts with parents, partners and friends, which is a great way to purchase and get what you want.”

Culture Kings founders Simon and Tahnee Beard. Pic supplied.