He said people needed to let their elderly relatives and friends know about the scam. "Once the victims provide the card numbers, the scammers are presumably able to on-sell the vouchers to convert them into cash." "Most of the victims are seniors who may not understand what iTunes cards are, but are told by scammers that they are an acceptable payment method and they feel obliged to follow instructions from people they believe are in authority," Mr Hillyard said. Mr Hillyard said victims were forced to purchase the cards at multiple outlets because retailers had restricted the amount of iTunes vouchers that could be purchased in one transaction after a campaign by the department last year when the scam was first reported. He said one elderly male victim had lost $20,000 to the scam earlier this month after visiting seven stores at four different shopping centres to buy iTunes cards. Over $90,000 has been lost through these iTunes scams and it seems to be the new way of transferring money out of the country." "We've seen a number of reports come into us this year. "It's certainly the flavour of the month at the moment and perhaps for the year," he said. Speak to someone you trust about the scam call.Don't respond to numbers supplied in an automated call.
It was only after speaking to a friend, who had been alerted to the scam after being targeted herself, that she realised it could be a hoax.Īcting consumer protection commissioner David Hillyard said iTunes vouchers were becoming scammers' currency of choice. She was also too fearful to answer her either her mobile or landline phones. Ms Woodroffe said she had felt frightened and stressed, and she feared she might have a stroke or heart attack. She was also warned not to speak to anyone about the case. "I was told that the paperwork for this had been sent out to me, but that it had been returned - so the tax department assumed that I was avoiding tax," she said.Īfter paying out $1,500 for vouchers on the first day, she was contacted again the following day to say she owed a further $2,000 for a "refundable security deposit", then another $500 the day after that to "cover costs". Ms Woodroffe said although she considered herself reasonably savvy, she had never heard of iTunes vouchers and the men sounded genuine.
ITUNES REMOTE BAR DRIVERS
The retired librarian was told she was at risk of losing her pension and drivers licence and a warrant had been issued for her arrest. She then had to relay the cards' redemption codes to the men using her mobile phone. The scammers convinced Ms Woodroffe to drive to various supermarkets and purchase dozens of iTunes vouchers, usually used to buy music and movies online. Her case has prompted a warning from the Department of Consumer Protection for people to be aware of the elaborate scam, which has claimed at least 26 mostly elderly victims over the past 12 months. Ms Woodroffe said she was convinced the call was genuine, having heard about the raft of recent changes to Centrelink benefits.
Hearing-impaired pensioner Jenni Woodroffe said the two 'plausible sounding' male scammers contacted her by telephone and demanded payment in iTunes vouchers for what they claimed was a Centrelink debt. An 80-year-old Perth woman who was tricked out of $4,000 over three days by scammers pretending to be from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) said she feared she was going to have a heart attack because of the stress involved.
0 kommentar(er)
