Sophisticated new scam fleecing Victorians out of thousands

Scammers posing as police officers and ATO employees have swindled Victorians out of tens of thousands of dollars.

A new scam has fleeced Aussies out of thousands.

Criminals are posing as police officers to scam victims out of tens of thousands of dollars in a sophisticated new fraud.

The Saturday Herald Sun can reveal that in recent months multiple victims have been cheated out of more than $100,000 by convincing phone scammers operating in Melbourne.

The fraudsters cold call victims claiming to be local police officers or Australian Taxation Office (ATO) employees and inform them their tax file number has been hacked or their account has been involved in criminal activity.

While on the phone, the con artists ask victims where their local police station is and to google the station’s number.

Victims are asked to report back the number and told a police officer from that station will call back within five minutes to discuss the matter.

Meanwhile the scammers uses cunning technology to falsify their number so victims believe they are being called by their local police station.

While on the phone, the scammer pretends to be a police officer and instructs victims to shift their money into a secure ATO account while they investigate.

They then use encrypted apps such as WhatsApp to con victims into depositing thousands of dollars into their bank accounts via an ATM.

On numerous occasions victims have met in person with scammers to hand over money.

One victim deposited $44,500 into various bank accounts before meeting a conman on Bourke St and handing over a further $25,000.

Another victim gave a scammer $20,000 cash at Knox Shopping Centre followed by a second $10,000 cash payment.

A third victim deposited $9000 into a con artist’s bank account before handing over $5000 in person at a Cheltenham shopping centre car park.

At least two others were conned into spending almost $11,000 on supermarket and department store gift cards which they sent to scammers.

Police have warned people to be on high-alert for this elaborate fraud, stressing no government or law enforcement agency would ever ask for cash payments.

Authorities believe more victims have been cheated and have urged them to report it to police.

“Unfortunately, there are some people in our community who seek to illegally profit from others,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

“The impact of these crimes has a significant, long lasting impact on victims. Not only significant financial impacts, but also the emotional and mental anguish that comes with being the victim of any crime, including a scam.”

Scammers use a scattergun approach to target victims located across the state and will continue to request cash until the victim becomes suspicious or runs out of money.

“The offending appears to be more opportunistic in nature, with scammers contacting many different people until they are able to find a victim. There doesn’t appear to be a detailed level of co-ordination,” the police spokeswoman said.

“There has been no link with the descriptions provided about the people who victims meet with, usually it is an adult male. Police don’t believe the person meeting the victim is necessarily the person co-ordinating the scam.”

Anyone who receives a suspicious call of this nature is advised to hang up immediately or request a reference number and call back the institution on a verified number.

If you have information about a crime contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

@AneekaSimonis