Police would like to advise the public of a number of fraud scams currently operating.  Examples that have been reported to Hobart Police in recent times are;

A person will phone or send letters or emails advising the recipient that they have won money from an unknown source or have unclaimed money from the ATO owing to them.  They will then proceed to tell the recipient that in order to get the money that is owed to them, they require the recipient to transfer money to them for a “processing fee” or similar, usually to an overseas location.  If the recipient falls for the scam, the fraudster will usually call again and advise they have found further funds owing to them and then request that the recipient transfer more money to them again for a “processing fee” or for “taxes”.

Another scam is where the person sends emails to a business, claiming they want to make a booking for accommodation or other services.  They will then usually provide a stolen credit card number for the booking.  After payment has been made they will then cancel and request a refund into another account.  A variation to this is that they request the business to withdraw extra funds from the credit card and then request that those funds be deposited into another account.  

There are also a number of “computer scams” operating, where the caller will call and advise that they are from a computer company and will do a free check for viruses by remote access.  They will then ask a series of questions and control your computer by remote access, most likely downloading all your personal information.  They will then advise that your computer has a virus and that they can fix for a fee and ask you to either provide your credit card details or deposit money into a nominated account.

Police would like to remind the public not to give out personal information and especially credit card details to anyone they do not know or have not verified their authenticity.

Tasmania Police Media
(03) 6230 2296