Fraud & Scam

The internet has made our life easier and better than ever. However, scammers and fraudsters are exploiting the lack of internet-protection knowledge of internet users, to deceive innocent people. These scams can cause the victim financial loss and emotional distress.

Preparing yourself with knowledge of scams and fraud will help minimise these risks. You need to be cautious with anything present on the internet or anyone contacting you that you have never met in person.

There are many types of scams and fraud that are related to sending money. And you can read more information on the Scamwatch website.

TYPE OF SCAMS AND FRAUD

Chatting/Dating with someone that you know from social channels

Scammers use emails, text messages and phone calls to pretend to be from a known organisation, to access to your personal identity information or to convince you to send them money.

These emails and text messages normally have links or attachments that you can click on to enter your personal information, or download malicious software onto your devices so they can remotely access your computer.     

How to avoid being scammed

  • We only use info@hhmt.com.au to communicate with our customers. If you receive an email which is similar to the above email, contact us immediately on (02) 9728 7928.
  • Do not click on links or attachments that look suspicious.
  • Never share your personal information to anyone you never meet.
Receiving an email, text message or phone call out of the blue asking for your information

Scammers use emails, text messages and phone calls to pretend to be from a known organisation, to access to your personal identity information or to convince you to send them money.

These emails and text messages normally have links or attachments that you can click on to enter your personal information, or download malicious software onto your devices so they can remotely access your computer.

How to avoid being scammed

  • We only use info@hhmt.com.au to communicate with our customers. If you receive an email which is similar to the above email, contact us immediately on (02) 9728 7928.
  • Do not click on links or attachments that look suspicious.
  • Never share your personal information to anyone you never meet.
Receiving an email to inform you that a business has updated its bank account

Scammers try to steal business email account login information to access their emails. When a business’s email account is compromised they use it to request payments to be sent to a different bank account that belongs to a scammer. This is normally only detected when customers claim they have already paid for an invoice but the genuine business has not received it.

How to avoid being scammed

  • We only use info@hhmt.com.au to communicate with our customers. If you are asked to transfer money to a different bank but receive an email from an email similar but no exactly info@hhmt.com.au, contact us immediately on (02) 9728 7928.
  • Use up-to-date anti-virus software to protect your computer.
Giving a person over the phone remote access to your computer

Scammers contact you by phone or email pretending to be technical support staff from a bank or a phone/internet company. They may tell that you have an IT issue and request to remotely access to your computer to determine the issue. They may also convince you to buy software to fix the issue that can steal your personal information and/or transfer money from your bank account.

How to avoid being scammed

  • Hang up on suspicious phone calls, even if the caller says they are from a known company. Do an independent research to confirm if the phone number is genuinely registered with the company. If the person is genuinely from that known company they will be willing to provide you their details and is happy for you to call them back.
  • Use up-to-date anti-virus software to protect your computer.
Unexpected winnings or lottery

Scammers offer you an inheritance, a lottery winning, a parcel containing high-value assets such as jewellery, gold, etc. or a share of a large sum of money in return for paying an upfront fee to claim it.

How to avoid being scammed

  • Delete emails or hang up on calls where the offer sounds “too good to be true” and do an independent search yourself to confirm if the email or call is genuine.
Fake charity

Scammers claim to be a charity that asks for donations. The money goes to a scammer’s bank account. This type of scams normally happens during disasters or when there is a crisis.

How to avoid being scammed

  • Donate money to an organisation that you know directly or that you can confirm as being a genuine charity. Do not donate to anyone or an organisation that you only know through social media channel like facebook etc.
Very attractive super-high return investment plan.

Scammers pretend to be a broker or a professional financial planner and propose a very attractive investment plan. They can try to either convince you to hand over your personal information, or money to invest where you will lose your entire investment.

How to avoid being scammed

  • Do research to ensure the broker/financial planner is licensed and genuine and the investment plan genuine and can be trusted.