By JOLENE OGLE
LOCAL police are warning Noosa residents to be extra vigilant after an elderly local woman was duped of several thousand dollars through a cold-calling scam.
Noosa Heads officer in charge Senior Sergeant Steve McReight said the local woman attended the Noosa Heads police station on Friday (24 June) afternoon to report she had paid “thousands of dollars” to a scam after receiving a call from a man who claimed to be from the tax department.
Snr Sgt McReight said the scammers call the victims claiming to be from a government agency, in this case the Australian Tax Office (ATO), and the victim is told they may be arrested due to a tax debt or because they haven’t lodged a tax return for a certain period of time.
“The victim is told if they want to avoid court and not be arrested or face deportation they are to purchase gift cards or prepaid cards such as iTunes cards or Load and Go cards to clear their debt,” he said.
“The scammer often remains on the phone while the victim is required to pass on the validation codes to the scammer. The scammer may ask the victim to telephone a number that appears to be Australian but is likely to be a VOIP number.”
Sen Sgt McReight said scammers were likely to target vulnerable and uninformed people in the community, so it is important to be aware of scams.
Anyone who is contacted by a cold-calling scammer is advised to refuse to make any purchases or pay any money.
A statement from Police Media said if locals had any doubts about the identity of a caller who claimed to be from a government department, they should hang up immediately and contact the department directly.
Don’t rely on numbers, email addresses or websites provided by the caller – find them through an independent source such as a phone book or online search.
Anyone who thinks they may have been targeted by this scam is urged to report it to ACORN via www.acorn.gov.au or visit their local police station.
