Spam Messages: Irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the Internet, typically to large numbers of users, for the purposes of advertising, phishing or spreading malware,
Internet Banking Fraud: Usage or the extraction of confidential bank details through illegal means such as phishing or malware
Phishing:Phishing email will typically direct the user to visit a website where they are asked to update personal information, such as a password, credit card, social security, or bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has.
Shopping and Auction site Fraud: Using shopping platforms and sites to extract confidential information such as identity and back details.
Health and Medical Scams: Deceit for profit, including false representation of efficacy and concealment of adverse effects of medications or “natural curatives”.
Lottery and Competition scams: A lottery scam is a type of advance-fee fraud which begins with an unexpected email notification, phone call, or mailing (sometimes including a large check) explaining that "You have won!" a large sum of money in a lottery.
Dating and Romance scams: Using emotional tactics on dating platforms to extract information about identity, banking details and passwords.
What do they look like?
This is an example of an email often sent by scammers to unsuspecting customers. Always check with the service provider - ANZ in this case, about the offer before entering any personal details.
Pharmaceutical scams like the one above are one of the most frequent scams in Australia. Medicinal products are offered at extremely low prices from these websites.
This is an example of an SMS scam offering a reward of $1,000,000. If the offer looks 'too good to be true', use your instincts. Alternatively, check the source of the message.
Scams like these are the most popular on the internet. Clicking on them usually leads to a website which asks you for your credit card information. DO NOT CLICK on these scams. Also, install an AdBlocker such as AdBlock to avoid accidentally clicking these scam advertisements.