scamnet

Education and tips

What to look out for

Scams aren’t always easy to identify but they share two common characteristics – they look credible and they know how to push the all right buttons to get you to respond.

Be wary if the offer:

Promises to make you rich very quickly without much effort.
Offers “free gifts” or prizes from a competition you never entered.
Appears to be an official style correspondence.
Assures you that the offer is ‘legal’.
Urges you to act now and/or advise you not tell anyone else.

If an opportunity sounds too good to be true, be careful and follow these tips.

Try and hold off to think about your options
Research or investigate the opportunity. Put the name or company provider in an Internet search engine like Google. If you can’t find the information then don’t proceed.
Ask questions. Find out whom you’re dealing with and what the guarantees are.
Make an informed decision and don’t feel pressured.
If you can not identify it through WA ScamNet then ring Consumer Protection on 1300 304 054

Always be careful about giving your personal details – including bank details or using your credit card - when dealing with people or companies you do not know. Identity fraud is a multi-million dollar business.

Help us alert others to the scam by forwarding suspicious emails to WA ScamNet.

Alternatively, post any letter scams you receive direct to WA ScamNet (no stamp required):

WA ScamNet - Consumer Protection
Reply Paid 64772
Locked Bag 14
Cloisters Square
Western Australia 6850

Scam Education

The Australian Government has a number of websites which offer tools to educate children and young adults how to be safe on the Web and to avoid scams. ScamNet has also provided you with links to some other innovative educational campaigns developed by other nations.

	Know IT All for secondary has been produced by Childnet International to help secondary school teachers and school staff to understand and address a range of e-safety issues within schools. Both the Secondary toolkit and the Upper Secondary Toolkit comprise of fully supportive lesson plans and a range of accompanying resources.
	AUSTRAC develops e-learning courses to assist regulated entities, industry associations and the public with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing information.
	Cybersmart provides activities, resources and practical advice to help young kids, kids, teens and parents safely enjoy the online world. Cybersmart also offers training and resources for schools and materials for library staff.
	Cybersmart Access is a set of four fun games designed to reinforce key cybersafety messages to children with special education needs. Each game has been tested by students and is accompanied by a unit of work with engaging lessons and activities created by special education needs educators. The resource covers key cybersafety issues including: Safe social networking Protecting personal information Responding to cyberbullying and unwanted contact Digital reputation Responsible online and mobile use
	Learn to be cyber smart with budd:e. Full of fun, interactive, self-learning cyber exercises for students in primary and secondary schools. Budd:e is an Australian Government initiative .
	The United States of America Federal Trade Commission campaign aims to educate tweens (kids ages 8 to 12) about advertising so they can become more discerning consumers of information. The goal of their campaign is to boost advertising literacy by: Raising awareness of advertising and marketing messages Teaching critical thinking skills that will allow tweens to better analyze and interpret advertisements Demonstrating the benefits of being an informed consumer The multi-media campaign involves tweens, their parents, and their educators. It is based on Admongo.gov, which teaches core ad literacy concepts through game play
	The Fraud and Corporate Crime Group of the Queensland Police Service has launched its latest crime-fighting initiative, Fiscal the Fraud Fighting Ferret Watch as Fiscal the Fraud Fighting Ferret takes on Bacchus the Bandit, a nasty fraud offender focused on relieving victims of their hard earned dollars through elaborate fraud scams.