Highlights:
- Laura Ramos says she lost about $70 buying Australian brand clothing on an Internet portal that turned out to be fake, and she suspects a link between the page and the ring she received for free.
- Cybersecurity expert Hector Teran explains that “Brushing Scam” is a type of e-commerce fraud in which victims receive free packages in the mail that they never ordered, in order to misuse the victim’s personal information.
- There are online payment methods that are safer and increase our protection against scams, says Héctor Terán.
The latest report on scams against Australians by the National Anti-Scams Centre revealed that Australians lost almost $3 billion to fraud in 2023, and reported more than 600,000 different types of scams to key organisations that monitor online crime.
While this figure represents a 13.1 per cent decrease in monetary losses compared to 2022, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which is run by the National Anti-Scams Centre, says people aged 65 and over continue to be the most affected by fraud in Australia.
“Retirees – not all retirees, of course, but many retirees – may have more substantial savings than the rest of the population. Therefore, they may be more actively seeking out savings and investment opportunities. And of course, people over 65 are not digital natives. So, in some respects, they may be less familiar with some of the tricks and traps that scammers use to lure their victims,” he says. Commission acting chair Catriona Lowe said, however, that anyone can fall victim to a scam, regardless of age, because of the increasingly sophisticated tricks scammers use to cloud their victims’ judgement.
In the case of Laura Ramos, a Spaniard from Sydney who belongs to the generation of digital natives, the scam she suffered, known as a “Brushing Scam”, occurred shortly after losing money buying discounted branded clothing on a website that seemed very legitimate but ended up being fake.
“The logos were everywhere, there were exactly the same photos used on the (real) website and exactly the same items,” Laura explained to SBS Spanish.
[La página era idéntica a la original] …minus the prices.
Laura Ramos, victim of the “brushing scam”.
Laura explains that she asked for the clothes to be sent to her workplace, but when more than a month passed and the order did not arrive, she realized that the sale had been a scam. But months later, she received a fake diamond ring at work, accompanied by a pamphlet with a QR code, which asked her to scan it for more information.
“I was very shocked because there was no return address or anything that would allow me to verify or trace the origin of the ring,” she said.
I was very surprised because there was no sender or anything that would allow me to verify or trace the origin of the ring.
Laura Ramos
The package containing the engagement ring that Laura received without ordering it is part of what they call a “Brushing Scam”, which are e-commerce frauds in which victims receive mysterious packages with free gifts that they never ordered. Technology and cybersecurity expert, Hector Teran, says there is a possibility of a link between the fake Internet portal where Laura entered her personal data and lost money, and the ring she received months later. The acting president of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which is in charge of the National Anti-Scams Center, recommends that consumers keep in mind three words when they are making online purchases. Stop… think… and protect. “Before clicking on a link or making that transfer – stop and ask yourself, who am I making this transaction with?” says Lowe.
“Then look up the phone number independently, look up the website independently and verify whether what appears to be a good offer is legitimate, thus increasing your protection, and if something arouses your suspicions, report it to your financial institution and Scamwatch.”
