ACCC warns fake bill email scams

The Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is warning the community to be cautious of common online scams as they continue to increase in prevalence in Australia.

The ACCC’s Scamwatch and the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (Acorn) revealed that in 2016 some 42 per cent of the scams were delivered by email or the internet, ten times more than mail which only represents 4.1 per cent). Scamwatch and Acorn reported that close to $300m was lost due to online scamming. 

According to Scamwatch, false billing, when scammers pretend to be from a provider and send a fake bill, is in the top three of the scams that Australians are most likely to encounter online, along with phishing scams, when scammers pretend to be from well-known businesses and government departments, conning unsuspecting victims out of their personal information and money.

Two Sides campaign group Keep me Posted (KMP) argues it is critical that people must have the option to receive important information by post, without penalty, given online communications remain so unsafe.

“Online scams are one of the many aspects of how paper fees impact people’s lives. We often refer to the digital divide and cost as factors why people want to receive paper communications, however online safety is a critical aspect of this issue,” commented Kellie Northwood, Executive Director, Keep Me Posted.

KMP has research highlighting consumer preferences and trust in digital communications with a survey of 5,000 supporters showing that 75 per cent declare they are concerned about internet fraud.

Further, the latest Toluna survey shows distrust in digital with 66 per cent of Australians agreeing that they are increasingly concerned that their personal information held electronically is at risk of being hacked, stolen, lost or damaged.

Northwood concludes, “Some consumers are eligible for exemptions from paper fees however they are not automatic, and not easy to access. We urge corporations to act fairly and remove these fees.”

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