The ACCC’s SCAMwatch has released a warning for Australian consumers and businesses about carbon price scams. Fraudsters are out there trying to pilfer personal information and banking and credit card details from unsuspecting recipients under the guise of pretending to be helping them recover carbon credits and compensation. We explain what this scam is in detail, and how your credit file could be compromised.

By Graham Doessel, Founder and CEO of MyCRA Credit Rating Repairs and www.fixmybadcredit.com.au.

Carbon price scammers are out in force again. The scam may come in a number of forms, targeting consumers and businesses across the country.

Here are some examples for you to look out for provided by SCAMwatch:

  • People are telephoned and asked to provide their bank account details to a caller claiming to be from the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA). They are offering a grant for mortgage assistance under the Federal Government’s Household Assistance Package of up to $100,000. These offers are false.
  • People have had phone calls seeking their personal banking details to pay carbon ‘tax’ compensation into their bank account – these are likely to be a scam.
  • Scammers may also know people’s names, addresses and phone numbers and may try to make an appointment to visit them in their home.
  • Scammers may set up fake websites which look very similar to official Australian Government websites. The sites may ask people to enter personal or financial details, or offer to sell people fake carbon credits.

Here is how SCAMwatch recommends consumers and businesses protect themselves from these scams:

Protect yourself

The Australian Government will never call you to ask for your bank account details or to receive the Household Assistance Package. Government services are never paid via money transfer services, nor will they ever ask you to send money this way. The Australian Government website www.australia.gov.au is a safe portal for finding government services.

If you receive a phone call or letter asking for personal information such as your Tax File Number, Veteran’s Affairs client number or banking details, do not answer straight away. Contact the Australian Taxation Office on 13 28 61 or your nearest DVA office on 133 254 (or 1800 555 254 if in regional Australia) to confirm that the source is legitimate.

Never provide or confirm your personal or business details over the phone (including banking details or identification numbers) unless you made the call using contact details you found yourself and you trust the information.

If you think that a call might be a scam hang up and check by using official contact details which you have found independently such as through a phone book or online search. Never use phone numbers, email addresses or websites provided by the caller.

Never enter your credit card or banking details on a website unless you have checked it is authentic and secure. Legitimate websites which ask you to enter sensitive personal or business details are commonly encrypted to protect your details. A secure site is usually identifiable by the use of “https:” rather than “http:” at the start of the internet address, or by a closed or unbroken key or padlock icon at the bottom right corner of your browser window.

If you are a business, make sure you only deal with people you know and trust. Avoid having a large number of staff authorised to make orders or pay invoices. This will reduce the risk of your business paying for something that it is not required or is not legitimate.

If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

Further to this, if people think they may have provided personal information to scammers then they may be vulnerable to identity theft.

Apart from contacting their bank, here are three more things which are imperative for people to do if they think they might be vulnerable to identity theft:

1. Contact Police. They can take some information about what happened and file a report – which you may need later if you do find your accounts and or your credit history compromised.

2. Request a copy of your credit file. Check that everything is up to date, addresses are correct for you, and that there are no suspicious entries – like strange credit enquiries, or loans you have no knowledge of.

3. Contact the Credit Reporting Agencies. Contact Veda Advantage, Dun & Bradstreet and Tasmanian Collection Services (if in Tassie). Let them know that you may be vulnerable to identity theft. They should be able to alert you to any new entries if they arose that could point to someone attempting misuse your good credit history.

You may also wish to contact the ACCC to report the scam.

If you are having trouble recovering your ability to obtain credit following identity theft, we might be able to help. Contact a Credit Repair Advisor on 1300 667 218 to discuss your circumstances.

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Image 2: David Castillo Dominici/ www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net