A Merimbula man is probably rueing the day he used the internet for a currency exchange after he lost several thousand dollars to overseas fraudsters.
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Inspector Jason Edmunds, of Bega Police has warned local residents to exercise caution in their dealings with internet companies after the Merimbula man lost $5000 in an internet fraud.
Inspector Edmunds said: “The victim was making arrangements to transfer Australian money into Thai currency and was dealing with a Thai company online.”
The transfer was never made and the man lost the entire $5000.
Inspector Edmunds cautioned: “If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”
Internet crimes and frauds have become a major issue for police throughout Australia. In 2012 the financial losses reported to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission totalled more than $93 million, a nine per cent increase from the previous year.
Inspector Edmunds said: “Internet fraud has become one of the biggest crime issues for Australians. A lot of people are losing money from their homes over the internet.”
The ACCC through its Scamwatch website (www.scamwatch.gov.au) offers a lot of advice about online transactions and email scams and points out that there are no get-rich-quick schemes: the only people who make money are the scammers.
The excellent Hoax Slayer website (www.hoax-slayer.com) also keeps up to date with scam emails and those irritating “pass this on” emails which often contain completely fabricated stories.
