The Financial and Cyber Crime Group are reminding Queenslanders to be aware of Grinch-like scammers and be sure to stay alert to scams.
To help you stay in control online and have a merry, bright and fraud-free festive season, we will be sharing 12 common cyber scams at Christmas and how to avoid them over the next four weeks, including:
- Bogus websites
- Phishing scams
- Parcel delivery scams
- Fake sellers on online classifies/trading sites
- Fake buyers on online classifies/trading sites
- Puppy scams
- Free gift card scams
- Holiday scams
- Impersonation scams
- Fake charities or fundraising appeals
- Romance scams
- Remote access scams
Detective Inspector Vince Byrnes from the Financial and Cyber Crime Group said that scams occur all year round, but scammers prey on people’s generosity and vulnerability at this time of the year.
“If a deal is too good to be true, it probably is,” Detective Inspector Byrnes said.
“We are reminding everyone to be alert to Christmas scammers and report any suspicious or unusual activity to Scamwatch.”
If you are the victim of a cybercrime, you should report the matter quickly and can do so online via ReportCyber where it will be referred to the right law enforcement agency to investigate. Be aware that police are unable to recover money lost.
To learn more about scams, visit www.scamwatch.gov.au or the Queensland Police Service’s R U in Control campaign at www.police.qld.gov.au/safety-and-preventing-crime/r-u-in-control.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink by providing information using the online suspicious activity form 24hrs per day at www.police.qld.gov.au/reporting.
You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers, a registered charity and community volunteer organisation, via crimestoppersqld.com.au 24hrs per day.
