Gold Coast: Police warn of scam callers impersonating officers
Gold Coasters have been warned about a “spoofing” phone scam involving callers impersonating police officers, which has left a young Robina man more than $7000 out of pocket. Here's how the scam works.
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GOLD Coast residents have been warned about a “spoofing” phone scam involving crafty callers impersonating police officers, which has left a young Robina man more than $7000 out of pocket.
The fraudulent scheme has been targeting residents since 2018 and is based on “caller ID spoofing”, according to a statement from Gold Coast police.
“In these cases, the scammer calls a victim from a phone number with a caller identification of a local police station,” the statement read.
“The caller fraudulently impersonates a police officer and threatens legal action before demanding a form of payment. The victim is instructed to pay a fee or fine in the equivalent value of gift cards.
“On Monday, June 21, a 22-year-old Robina man was contacted via phone-call from a number with a caller identification of Robina Police Station.
“The caller falsely claimed they were a senior constable and that the man’s tax file number had been used to open several bank accounts.”
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The scammer instructed the Robina man to buy $25,000 in gift cards, claiming he would be reimbursed with a cheque.
Subsequently, the man bought a number of gift cards and sent them to the scammers.
Investigations into the source of the scam phone calls was ongoing on Wednesday afternoon.
Queensland Police reminded the public the service does not seek or receive payments over the phone.
Police also advised anyone who receives a similar call should report the matter to Scamwatch online.
However, victims should phone Policelink on 131 444 if they have already paid the scammers.
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