Commissioner foils scam
Issue Date: - Thursday, 2 April 2009
Western Australian Commissioner for Consumer Protection Anne Driscoll has been targeted in an internet scam which she says shows how anyone can be subjected to scams.
Ms Driscoll was told in an email that she was being considered for inclusion in the ‘2009-2010 Princeton Premier Business Leaders and Professional Honors Edition’.
“While cleverly masqueraded as an official invitation, it had all the hallmarks of a scam. One of the tell tale signs was the urgency that was attached to the invitation. I was urged to lodge an application within five business days to meet publishing deadlines,” the Commissioner said.
Consumer Protection investigated the email further, and found other alleged victims who had been charged up to $875.95 for their ‘free’ listing.
“The scammers were clearly trying to trade on the prestige associated with the Princeton name,” Ms Driscoll said.
The Commissioner said the attempt to scam her was a good lesson in the way scammers approach people.
“Scammers can be very sophisticated, and approaches come in unexpected ways. No one is immune to being targeted by them,” she said.
The Commissioner said scammers continue to come up with some ingenious ways to get people to part with their money.
“Research shows that Australians lose about one billion dollars to scams each year. Scams are now amongst our top consumer complaints. They hit everybody, and people need to be constantly vigilant,” the Commissioner said.
More information about scams is available at the Department of Commerce WA ScamNet website at www.commerce.wa.gov.au/wascamnet
Suspect emails and letters can be sent to WA ScamNet for further investigation by the Department. The website also details information about scams, and provides a free subscriber service for WA consumers to receive WA ScamNet Alerts.