National Anti-Scam Centre

Eti Abdulioglu, Director of the National Anti-Scams Centre, met with staff from the Vietnam Competition Commission (VCC) and the VCC Chair Le Trieu Dung last month in Vietnam to discuss our education and awareness raising initiatives. The VCC were excited to receive our newly updated Little Book of Scams both in English and in Vietnamese, which has proven to be a very popular resource among our global partners. We also discussed how to reach audiences, including at-risk groups, using a variety of different communication channels. Find the translated versions of the Little Book of Scams to share with your networks here: https://bit.ly/3Aq5aAK Photo: Eti Abdulioglu, National Anti-Scams Centre Director; Aletta Newman, Senior Manager, and Alexander Winn, Senior Specialist from ASIC; and Le Trieu Dung VCC Chair.

The Australian Public Service is warning jobseekers about scammers impersonating staff from APS Jobs. Learn more 👇

📢 Government agencies must work together to combat scams activity. Last week, we partnered with ASIC to deliver training to representatives from the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC), Hanoi Stock Exchange and the Vietnam Stock Exchange on our work to combat scams in Australia. Eti Abdulioglu, Director at the National Anti-Scam Centre, talked about our multi-faceted approach to coordinating scam disruption. Aletta Newman, Senior Manager, and Alexander Winn, Senior Specialist from ASIC provided a comprehensive overview of ASIC’s work in disrupting investment scams. Scams are a global problem and by working together sharing our collective knowledge and experience can we have real impact. Many thanks to other presenters including Arabella Bennett Bennet, Second Secretary from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, James Roberts, General Manager Group Fraud from the Commonwealth Bank, D/Insp Nuckhley Succar and Sgt Alexander Kazagrandi from the Australian Federal Police for sharing insights from a law enforcement and private sector perspective. This workshop was undertaken through ASIC-SSC Capacity Building Program under the Mekong-Australia Partnership. Photo credit: State Securities Commission Vietnam.

Protect yourself and your customers by following Scamwatch’s advice on avoiding business impersonation scams: https://lnkd.in/dJnSgv3x

Last week, Jayde Richmond, General Manager of the National Anti-Scam Centre, attended the Global Anti-Scam Summit (GASS) in Singapore to talk about how Australia is tackling scams and how scams are fought globally. Jayde spoke about how the National Anti-Scam Centre is using fusion cells to tackle specific scams, the upcoming Scams Prevention Framework and the importance of international coordination in stopping scams. We were so pleased to hear from Dr Li Sa Ng from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Kien Soloman from the UK Home Office and Alexander Ramos from the Department of Information and Communications and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Centre about what they are doing in their countries to fight scams and the progress that is being made to stop the harm caused by scams. Thank you to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) for bringing together all the experts at the Summit.

We’ve detected a bulk extortion email campaign targeting Australians and we’re warning the public to be alert to this issue. Consumers are being targeted by criminals who falsely claim to have hacked into their computer or webcam and accessed compromising images or videos of the recipient. There’s no evidence that the criminals behind these emails really do have access to the victim’s webcam or computer. “People should ignore these spam emails and be aware that the recent volume of reports of this scam suggest it is a large-scale campaign. The National Anti-Scam Centre is working with partner organisations, including law enforcement and IDCARE, to disrupt this scam and ensure victims have access to support.” - ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe. Learn more https://bit.ly/4faVubU

We’re warning consumers that scammers are targeting people experiencing financial hardship offering fake financial assistance. These scams impersonate Government agencies and programs as well as charities which provide support to people in need. Genuine support to those who are struggling is available, but we know criminals seek opportunities to take advantage of people in need. Remind your networks to not rely on social media adverts or assume that the person contacting you is who they say they are. Consumers who’ve had their information stolen through these types of scams should contact Services Australia Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk on 1800 941 126. “As the cost of living has risen, struggling Australians are being targeted in despicable ways by criminals. We’re warning people who need financial assistance and those that provide it to be aware of these scams.” - ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe. https://bit.ly/3UkLAMT

We’re warning consumers to be wary of bank impersonation scams, specifically any unsolicited calls, emails or messages from someone claiming to be from their bank. Scammers use technology to make phone calls appear to be from the consumers bank and even get scam text messages to appear in the same conversation thread as legitimate bank text messages. Join the fight against these scams by sharing these tips and encouraging your networks to report scams to Scamwatch.

Jayde Richmond, General Manager of the National Anti-Scam Centre, will present at the Global Anti-Scam Summit (GASS). As a leading voice against scams Jayde will be speaking about our work coordinating anti-scam activities through shared intelligence and coordinating strategies to combat scams with experts across government, law enforcement and industry. This important event is being hosted by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) this 21 – 22 October. 

Register to join Digital Profession and ACCC's Sarah Polhill this 17 October, to learn about our scam data sharing partnership with Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. Anyone with a .gov.au email address can register to attend the event