Residents are being warned about an Amazon scam tricking people into handing over their personal stats and cash for ‘outstanding payments’.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has urged Queenslanders to be vigilant of the phishing scam being done over the phone.
‘Information to the ACMA of Amazon phone scams have surged. Callers claiming to be from Amazon are asking for payment, personal data or supplying a refund,’ an ACMA affirmation read.
‘If you obtain a suspicious telephone call, do not share any personal information and hang up the phone immediately.
‘The scam call may be a recorded note or a person claiming to be from Amazon. That is a typical phishing scam over the UK and US and is currently targeting Australians.’
The elaborate scam will get started with a telephone call on the false pretence of the need to make a payment before requesting personal details.
It’s known as a phishing scam, where scammers make an effort to trick a person into offering private information such as bank details and credit-based card volumes.
A scammer will contact a person claiming to be from the official organisation and frequently call to say they are ‘verifying details’ before asking identification questions.
ACMA Authority member Fiona Cameron said since 2019 saw a string of phone scams reported the company has launched a fresh anti-scam campaign.
‘The top three on the (2019 scam) list are all impersonation scams that lots of people will know about,’ she said.
‘The ACMA’s new Combatting Scams Action Plan is designed to reduce the range of scam calls Australians receive.
‘The project will put enforceable obligations on telco providers to talk about data and work together to identify and block scam calls like these ones.’
She said the organisation was confident in its approach to protect Australian residents.
‘If you think a call is think, don’t engage, instead hang up, block the number and report the decision to Scamwatch.
‘If you are unsure whether a call is a scam or not, hang up and contact the organisation the caller boasts to be from to verify the details.’
ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said if you felt you were the victim of a scam or have been contacted with a scam to contact your bank.
‘If you think scammers may have gained usage of your individual information, even in a scam completely unrelated to finances, immediately contact your bank,’ Mrs Rickard said.
‘Timeliness in alerting your lender is absolutely crucial, and can give you the greatest chance at recovering your money.’
To get more about scams in Australia, or even to report a scam to go to the Scamwatch website.
In December 2019 Scamwatch saved 1,767 scam reports with a total of $57,890 in losses.
Males make up the majority of scam victims for a price of 50.8 per cent while women constitute 45.6 percent and Gender X creating the rest of the 3.6 %.
Meanwhile phishing scams via phone made up 22.5 per cent of most scams with email being the preferred method by scammers at 38.8 %.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Amazon for comment.
