Fraudsters masquerading as legitimate businesses and even the police have managed to scam millions of dollars already this year.
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Tasmanians are being warned after more than 8000 reports were made to Scamwatch, with a total of $4.4 million stolen nationally.
Scammers are impersonating companies, including Telstra, NBN, Microsoft, or local police, in an attempt to access an individuals computer.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deputy chairwoman Delia Rickard said once they gain access, they then steal money or banking information.
“The old trick scammers used to use was to call people and say there was a virus on their computer that needed fixing but, in a new twist, scammers are now telling people they need their help to catch hackers,” she said.
“If you receive a phone call out of the blue about your computer and remote access is requested, it’s a scam 100 per cent of the time. Just hang up.”
A similar scam was reported earlier this year.
Scammers were impersonating energy and telecommunications providers and demanding payments.
As of April, 117 Tasmanians had been the victim of the fake billing scam, but NSW reported the highest number of incidents at 1779. In Queensland there were 1275 reports, 1245 in Victoria, 485 in Western Australia, 462 in South Australia, 132 in the ACT, and 38 in the Northern Territory.
A warning also remains in place about an unlicensed tradesmen operating in Tasmania.
Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Andrew Goldsworthy is continuing to investigate complaints had been made about Andrew John Paul, who has been trading as AAA Roofing.
Mr Paul is not licensed to undertake roof plumbing work in Tasmania, and attempts by Consumer, Building and Occupational Services to contact him have been unsuccessful.
To check if a tradesperson is licensed, visit cbos.tas.gov.au.
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