Lockyer Valley residents should watch out for new scam

LOCAL residents should be on the watch out for a new variation on the phone credit card scam.

A woman from Grantham, who did not wish to be named, said she received a call this week from a person with Indian-sounding voice claiming to be a representative of her bank.

“He told me that someone from New Zealand had tried to withdraw $700 from my account,” the woman  said.

“He sounded very convincing.”

The woman said she became suspicious after the caller had asked for identifying details such as date of birth and account numbers.

They also asked for the name of her bank, despite initially claiming to represent the bank.

“They rang me on my home phone which I never give out, I only tell my bank my mobile number.”

“I hung up and called my bank who told me it was a scam,” he said.

She said the scam was relatively new but apparently there has been a spate of reports in the last week.

“I’d hate for elderly people who can’t afford it to get caught out by this,” she said.

According to www.scamwatch.gov.au, this type is scam is known as a “phoney fraud alert“.

A phoney fraud alert is similar to a phishing scam (which is an SMS or email scam).

It can come in the form of an email or a phone call claiming to be from your bank or financial institution.

The scammer will usually tell you that your credit card or account has been cancelled because it was involved in criminal activity, or because they suspect your card or details have been stolen.

This is a trick to get you to given them your account details.

The scammer will ask you to confirm your credit card or account details so the ‘bank’ can ‘investigate’.

If you think you have been targeted by a phoney fraud alert, you should contact your bank or credit union to let them know.

Protect yourself from phoney fraud alerts

• NEVER send money, or give credit card or online account details to anyone you do not know and trust.
• Do not give out your personal, credit card or online account details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source.
• Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam): delete them.
• Do not click on any links in a spam email, or open any files attached to them.
• Never call a telephone number that you see in a spam email.
• NEVER reply to a spam email (even to unsubscribe).
• If you want to access an internet account website, use a bookmarked link or type the address in yourself: NEVER follow a link in an email.
• Never enter your personal, credit card or online account information on a website that you are not certain is genuine.