State Member for Wallsend, Ms Sonia Hornery MP, has called on residents to be even more vigilant about scam phone calls after reports of increased calls in the area.
Ms Hornery’s office has received a number of reports about people transferring money to companies pretending to be Telstra or other phone and internet companies, computer technicians from Facebook with bugs or errors and many similar scams.
A majority of these calls appear to be from overseas and appear to be genuine, but if in doubt, people should hang up and contact the actual company themselves.
In June, more than 15,200 reports were made to Scamwatch and a total of $7,922,337 was lost to these scams.
Quotes attributable to Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery
“With more and more people online, scammers are finding new ways to steal money from vulnerable members of the community.”
“I encourage everyone to visit scamwatch.gov.au, a website run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, to find out how to protect yourself and keep up to date.”
“Simple things like choosing complex passwords and updating them regularly can make all the difference.”
“Be on alert for anything dodgy. Check emails thoroughly before you click on any links. If you have any suspicions, delete the email immediately.”
“If you are concerned that you have been the victim of a scam, or if you think you may have been targeted, you should report your experiences to Scamwatch.”
“Do not purchase things like an ITunes card to pay any account as it’s most likely a scam. Do not let anyone remotely take control of your computer after an email or Facebook message – it’s a scam.”
Scamwatch can be found at https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/