Scam alert - Hay NSW locals caught up in sophisticated scams

Scammers are targeting many Australians and local residents have recently been caught unawares. Image: stock.

By Krista Schade - February 7, 2024

The University of NSW Business School reports Australian’s lost a staggering $3 billion to scams last year, and where once scams were something that happened to other people, an increasing number of local people are falling victim to incredibly sophisticated cons.

One couple lost their deposit on a new caravan when the email of their supplier was intercepted by a scammer.

“We had been dealing with a large franchise business in another town and when it came time to pay the deposit, they told me over the phone they would email me our invoice and banking details,” the customer said.

The couple prefer to remain unnamed, as they have been pursuing a refund for the lost deposit for several months.

“The invoice arrived and straight after it another one came through on email. The letterhead, ABN and everything was identical.”

But the second email was from a scammer, who had intercepted the caravan supplier’s email system. They sent a replica invoice, with new banking details, and a message that they had recently changed banks.

“We thought nothing of it,” the customer told The Grazier. “We had been to the showroom and met the staff. We’d chosen our new van and spoken with the business many times on the phone.

“The invoice looked exactly the same, and we are used to businesses having to change banks when branches close.”

The couple sent off their deposit via electronic funds transfer. The following week they presented at the dealership to pay the balance and collect their new van, only to be told their deposit had not been received.

Since then, the pair have battled with the business and banks to reclaim their funds, and have also reported the crime to Police.

Australian Federal Police refers to this type of scam as ‘man-in-the-middle’(MITM) attacks, where the attacker secretly relays and possibly alters communications between two parties who believe that they are directly communicating with each other.

Certified Practising Accountants estimate MITM scams cost Australians more than $227 million dollars in 2021 alone.

They advise to always contact a business directly, in person or by phone, to confirm any changes to banking details.

Hackers have also been impersonating legitimate businesses on booking.com and one local accommodation provider has had their official booking site replicated.

Janine and David Cox own and operate holiday villas on Tasmania's picturesque King Island.

“They took all our real photos and information from our own site and used it to create a fake listing on booking.com,” Janine explained.

“We only found out when a customer messaged us via our social media about the booking.

“When they mentioned a site we aren’t listed on, the warning bells rang.”

The fake listing on booking.com has copied all of the legitimate information, and even claims to be hosted by 'Janine David' however the email address provided has been changed, to redirect messages to the scammer.

Geographically the listing has confused King Island's location, mentioning suburbs and attractions in Sydney, NSW.

“We had to tell the poor holiday maker the listing was fake. Hopefully they can get their money back.”

Complaints involving Booking.com skyrocketed by 585% in 2023 due to a major spike in scam reports which cost travellers more than $337,000.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is urging all Australian travellers to independently verify any email containing a link or attachment and to contact by phone to query suspicious emails or text messages.

In another concerning trend, a young local family was horrified to discover that pictures of their two-year-old child had been copied from their personal social media pages, and were being used by a scammer to catfish a man into paying child support.

Catfishing is the term used when someone uses a fake identity online to convince victims of a relationship, usually to extort money.

In this case, the Sydney-based woman appears to be a ­­mother herself, according to the family.

"We only found out about it when the man being catfished messaged us, after figuring out himself that our child wasn’t his or hers (the scammer's)," the family told The Grazier

"I'm still unsure how he found us, but I'm guessing he reverse searched her photos.

"I took the evidence to the local police station and contacted her and any of her family members that I could find on Facebook.

"I believe that she has deleted everything of our child and unfortunately the police couldn’t find her in the system."

The child's mother has great advice for others, but the fact the family had to endure such an invasion of their privacy has changed them forever.

"I advise others to clear out random people from their following or friends lists, as you never think it’ll happen to you until it does.

"It’s all well and good to have a big following on social media until your child’s safety becomes compromised.

"I have a whole new Instagram page and went through my friends on Facebook as well as making both accounts private.

"I’ll only allow those that I know on there now, as our child’s safety is a priority."

The Australian Government has a series of information and resources available at www.cyber.gov.au. Their tips include limiting what you share online, not using the same passwords online, checking bank statements for unusual activity and not clicking on links from unsolicited emails or text messages.