BE WEARY: Scammers target flood-impacted communities

Experts are urging people in flood affected regions to be vigilant as scammers pose as insurers and charities, requesting funds.

SCAM SHAM: Experts are warning people in flood affected communities to be on the lookout for suspicious activity from scammers after dozens of claims of fishy behaviour from people falsely claiming to be part of charities and insurance organisations have targeted flooded Queensland and New South Wales regions.

Scam experts are warning flood-affected communities to be on high alert following dozens of reports of dodgy phone call scammers posing as charities and insurance brokers targeting flood affected parts of Queensland and News South Wales.
The Customer Owned Banking Association is urging flood-impacted Australians to be on the lookout for scammers posing as government employees, insurers or charity groups working hard to restore impacted communities.

COBA director of services and financial crimes, Leanne Vale said the rapid pace and trauma of natural disasters can work to the advantage of scammers who are exceptionally skilled at impersonating organisations and manipulating emotions.

“Crisis and rebate scammers deploy various tactics to take advantage of people in a time of uncertainty. Hearing about bushfires, floods, cyclones or earthquakes can motivate us to give, but for scammers it’s an opportunity to take,” she said.

According to the Insurance Council of Australia, more than 5000 insurance claims were lodged over the weekend, with insurers aiming to fast-track the processing of claims for flood-impacted policyholders.

“Brazen scammers will not hesitate to pose as policyholders and intercept cash payments through fraudulent emails and SMS,” Mrs Vale said.

“With this natural disaster impacting densely populated areas in NSW and Queensland, we may well see a higher number of insurance claims and requests for government assistance than the 2020 bushfires.

“Scammers will closely follow this disaster and target payments that are essential to recovery, whether funding temporary accommodation, replacing essential items, or rebuilding homes.”

Devious tactics

In the wake of last year’s bushfires, a sham SMS declared: “Centrelink has processed your Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment. Payment will be made to your account within 48 hours”.

This was followed by fraudulent texts and phone calls which suggested government payments had been made in error with instructions and demands to return the money.

People were also asked for secure personal details such as their bank account numbers.

In the space of minutes, bank accounts were emptied of funds and identities were stolen, paving the way for even more crimes.

“It’s important to remember that government departments will never randomly phone or send text messages to initiate a benefit claim,” Mrs Vale said.

“Cut and pasting government department icons, brands and imitating email and SMS are all tactics from the scammers playbook.”

The amount lost to rebate scams is also on the rise. In December 2020, ACCC’s Scamwatch recorded a 300% increase from the previous year.

Public advice

A former Australian Federal Police Officer, Mrs Vale is a leading expert on fraud and financial crimes with over three decades of experience.

She’s advising everyone to be wary of any approaches you did not initiate, especially if you are asked to send money online.

– Confirm the identity of the contact by calling the organisation directly.

– Don’t feel pressured to respond to the contact if you’re not 100 per cent sure.

– Do not disclose personal information in a phone call, such as sharing your bank account screen, reading out passwords, or providing login details to MyGov.

– Trusted organisations will not ask for an upfront payment to process recovery payments.

– Requests from Services Australia and government departments can be verified with a call to special hotlines made available on their websites.

– Consider your local post office, when internet services are disrupted, print and post with your post office is a trusted option.

– Only donate to legitimate registered official charities and verify the charity through the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commissions website.

– Lookout for sham emails, websites, text messages and phone numbers with suspicious URL links, addresses and incorrect spelling and grammar.