Every year, scammers come up with new ways to separate you from your money. Since the start of the year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) received reports of over $260 million in losses from scams, an increase of 16% compared to this time last year.
Shopping scams were the biggest offenders this year, with the ACCC urging Australians to take extra care with their personal information when shopping online during the holiday season.
What can I do to avoid credit card scams?
1. Be cautious when buying online
Shopping online may be convenient, but be cautious about where you enter your credit card details. Just because a website looks up to scratch, doesn’t mean it’s trustworthy. As scammers get more advanced, the eye test becomes less reliable for identifying scam sites.
The Australian Government’s website, Scamwatch, offers these tips to avoiding online shoppings scams:
- Check that you’re shopping at a real store with ABN lookup
- Be careful of social media stores selling items at unusually cheap prices
- Only shop with stores offering secure payment methods
- Check the website URL for red flags like Australian businesses not ending in .com.au or unusual characters in the company name.
2. Never give credit card details over the phone
If you need to make a payment or want to donate to a charity, it’s a good idea to do it online via a secure payment method or by calling the organisation directly. Credit card scammers can access your information over the phone if they impersonate another institution. Scamwatch figures show that phone calls are the second most common way that scams take place, after the internet.
3. Read your own mail and financial statements
How often do you get a credit card statement and toss it onto a ‘to be read later/never’ pile? It’s a good idea to get into the habit of opening all your financial statements and checking them carefully for any sign of suspicious activity or financial fraud. That goes for your bank accounts and your superannuation fund as well. But remember to shred them when you’re done with them.
4. Stay digitally protected
Keep the virus and security software on your computers and mobile devices updated, and try to avoid visiting or buying from websites that have questionable security. When shopping or browsing online, stick to websites you know and trust, and be cautious of any site that looks suspicious or asks for too much personal information.
5.Be wary of social media
The ACCC calls out social media security specifically as a major cause of shopping and credit card scams. This is because once you or someone you know has their account compromised, scammers can message friends and family with links to fake websites claiming to offer exclusive deals or investing opportunities.
To avoid this, consider reaching out to any friends or family through other channels if you have any doubts about a message you’ve received and report any suspicious accounts you come across.
6. Don’t throw personal documents into the bin
If you are disposing of any documents that include personal details, make sure you shred or otherwise destroy them before tossing them into the bin. Buying a home shredder can be a great investment. Some document types you may want to shred or dispose of safely include:
- financial correspondence, such as savings, transaction, credit card, and buy now pay later (BNPL) account statements
- any letters or documents received from the government
- any documents with personal information
7. Keep your mail secure and protected
Buying a lock for your letter box (or using a PO Box) can help keep your mail secure. And, if you’re going to be away for a while, for example on an overseas holiday, make sure you either put a hold on your mail or have someone collect it for you regularly.
8. Choose a bank with advanced security features
Some banks offer fingerprint access to mobile banking on supported devices. Using this technology means that you’ll be able to access your online banking, including your credit card accounts, with fingerprint authentication rather than a pin. This could help to keep your online accounts safer.
9. Always know where your card is
Keep track of your credit card or credit cards at all times, and if you lose it, contact your bank or financial institution immediately to lock the card.
10. If you think you’ve been scammed, report it ASAP
If you think you may have been scammed, let your financial institution know ASAP and report it to both the police and the ACCC (via Scamwatch). There are many different types of scams aside from credit card scams, and you might even be experiencing more than one type of scam if your privacy and personal details have been compromised. Scamwatch says that common scam categories include investment scams, dating and romance scams, false billing, remote access scams, identity theft, online shopping scams, lottery scams and more.
Where to get help if you’ve been scammed
The ACCC has suggested steps you can take if you’ve lost money to a scam or given out your personal information, such as credit card details.
- Immediate steps. Scamwatch recommends that if you’ve been threatened, assaulted or had property stolen, you should contact your local police station immediately. If bank account details are potentially compromised, Scamwatch advises to alert your bank or financial institution immediately.
- General advice. Scamwatch has advice to help you with warning friends and family, contacting financial institutions, recovering your stolen identity, reporting scams to authorities, getting help from Australian agencies, changing your online passwords and more.
- Emotional support. Talk to your GP, a local health professional or someone you trust. Some counselling and support services that may be helpful include Lifeline, beyondblue and MensLine Australia.
Are you at risk of being scammed?
Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) Australians, Indigenous Australians, people with a disability and older Australians are often targeted by scams, with research suggesting scammers might see older Aussies, in particular, as being less familiar with new technology.
“Unfortunately, scheming scammers try to target people who by virtue of their background, disadvantage, language skills or disability may experience vulnerability, and be more likely to fall for their tricks,” said the ACCC’s Deputy Chair, Delia Rickard.
The ACCC has translated the Little Black Book of Scams into ten languages to help the community understand and avoid scams. It regularly engages in Indigenous outreach programs and shares scam warnings on the Your Rights Mob Facebook page. Scamwatch also has detailed advice about scams for older Australians.
