Police swamped by scam cases as criminal target loopholes in porous system

The woman lost a large amount of money in a crypto currency scam chasing her losses and reported that to police and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission website scamwatch.gov.au

She was then contacted by someone who claimed to be from scamwatch and after that person gained her trust she was ripped off for another substantial amount.

Detective Sergeant Mark James, of the Hamilton police crime investigation unit, said spyware had been installed in the woman's computer and the scammers had access to every key stroke the victim made.

He said there were currently about 30 police case files open in the south-west covering a range of scams.

"They take months to unravel and there's very rarely any money recovered or anyone charged as the money is invariably converted to crypto-currency and moved overseas" he said.

"It's like the wild-wild west out there on the internet and there's no sheriff in town."

The detective said communication between police jurisdictions and financial Institutions was hampered by delays and red tape on both sides with a lack of information sharing protocols resulting in evidence and opportunities to identify offenders being lost.

"If you wanted to design a system which assisted scammers to rort Australian people this is exactly the sort of thing you'd want," Detective Sergeant James said.

"The Medicare and Optus data breaches are also starting to bite. That information on the dark web is now being used to open accounts in the names of people who have no idea their information is being used."

Anyone who has been scammed is strongly recommended to report the matter to police as soon as possible, who are best placed to take the initial details and statements and can offer victims referrals to agencies who can assist them, particularly in cases where someone's identity has been compromised.

"People are often embarrassed to come forward and feel they may be judged," he said.

"But, don't think that if you have been scammed once that's the end of the matter. You could very easily be targeted again.

"The sex scamming of young men, who are befriended on social media by people they don't know and then encouraged to perform sex acts and blackmailed that the video will be distributed to their friends and family, is absolutely rampant and very under-reported.

"This is also anecdotally involving human trafficking and sexual servitude of the girls involved overseas who are being exploited by organised crime.

"Scammers have no regard for the damage they are causing - financially and emotionally and will take your last dollar if they can."

Detective Sergeant James said anyone scammed online should unplug their computer from the internet and get it professionally cleaned .

"If you have unknowingly had spyware installed on your computer, then changing your passwords won't help because the scammers have access to every keystroke you make," he said.

"You need to let the technicians know you suspect spyware has been installed on your computer so they know what to look for.

"The fallout from this offending is terrible. People think there is a government agency to help them be safe on the internet - there is not.

"Most scams that involve significant losses involve the victim opening the door and letting the wolves in.

"We've got another case that involves an Australian Tax Office scam, where the criminals have claimed the victim's last three tax returns by changing bank account and contact details, totalling about $25,000.

"There's another case involving the purchase and delivery of of goods and a request to also buy an apple gift card and provide a receipt.

"The receipt includes the activation code which can then be used by the scammers to redeem the voucher."

Detective Sergeant James said the lack of cooperation between business, government agencies and law enforcement left local police fighting against scammers with their hands tied behind their backs.

"Its frustrating for us not to be able to help more and we really want to prevent the crimes from happening rather than chase ghosts after the fact.

"If anyone asks for remote access to your computer that's a massive red flag," he said.

"Anyone asking for identification documents is a massive red flag.

"Cold calls demanding immediate action through access or information, again red flag.

"If an investment option looks too good to be true, it probably is. Don't play with money you can't afford to lose," he said.

He also warned against people being recruited to let scammers use their legitimate bank accounts to help move money which has been recently seen in the area.

"You might think it's easy money but think about the consequences of having your bank accounts frozen and not being able to open new ones," he said.

"Plus charges of money laundering and dealing with proceeds of crime apply to someone allowing crime syndicates to use their accounts to perpetuate fraud," he said.

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