Techworks Scam ( Scam Alert! Police alarmed at internet fraud incidents,viewnews, Nov 16, 2010)

Police from the Fraud and Corporate Crime Group are concerned after being alerted to two fraud incidents targeting Queenslanders and Australians, including a website that was freely offering the personal details of one thousand Australians.

Late last week, police uncovered an airline ticketing scam which they believe is highly sophisticated and capable of scamming even the most vigilant Queenslander.

“The problem with highly sophisticated scams is that they are very convincing. While it is very encouraging members of the community are becoming more sceptical of ‘bargain one-off internet deals’ and ‘can’t miss’ opportunities, unfortunately this means offenders are becoming smarter and developing scams designed to trick even the most security conscious person,” Detective Superintendent Brian Hay of the State Crime Operations Command’s Fraud and Corporate Crime Group said.

Several websites advertising cheap flights have been identified as being involved in scamming victims, including www.cheapflightsonly.net,www.onlycheapflights.net and www.cheaper-flights.net.au.  The most recent website identified is www.flisave.com.

Potential travellers visit the website with the promise of discounted flights. Customers are asked to contact those running the site by email. A return email is then sent to the customer with a list of flight options.

“What is enticing about these websites and may even serve to alleviate the fear many people have of shopping on these sites is that is that payment is not requested until the tickets arrive from the airline. So the customer pops in their details and the tickets arrive. They are in fact genuine tickets from a genuine airline. The customer can even ring the airline and confirm their seats. They then pay for the tickets and are set for their holiday,” he said.

In the earlier instances, travellers were directed to make payment into Australian bank accounts (these are believed to be operated by mules) however in the most recent case, the potential traveller was directed to make payment via an online payment facility to a bank account in South Africa.

“Unfortunately this is where it all comes unstuck. The traveller doesn’t realise this at the time, but the offenders have actually used stolen credit cards to purchase the legitimate tickets from the airline,” Detective Superintendent Hay said.

“What we see here is unlike anything we’ve seen before. Two victims from one simple scam. The person’s bank who owns the credit card is now out pocket $2000 as is the person buying the tickets who sent the money after receiving their tickets. Once the airline realises the credit card used to buy the ticket is stolen, the ticket is cancelled,” Detective Superintendent Hay said.

This is a warning to potential travellers to be aware that sites like these are operating out there right now. Potential customers should do as much homework as they can to verify any website they purchase from is legitimate – stick to reputable websites. The warning signal on this particular scam is that the travellers have received the tickets prior to payment being demanded.

In another incident and of major concern to police is the report of a website being hosted in Vietnam and freely offering the personal details (including credit card numbers, names, postal address, email address, postcode and phone numbers) of  one thousand Australians.

Early inquiries have established that the credit card and personal details were from a website that was compromised in around January this year.  The stolen credit cards were cancelled by their respective banks, however, the identity issues have not been considered.

“Whilst consumers were advised that their cards were compromised, cancelled and new cards reissued, no mention was made of the threat to their identity,” Detective Superintendent Hay said.

“Clearly we are very worried about something like this. We are currently in the process of contacting every single person on this list to advise them to regularly monitor their credit status and to be especially wary when receiving phone calls and emails.  I have no doubt there is a substantial risk that these people will be approached via telephone or email by fraudsters looking to cause further stress to these victims,” he said.

“It is important we understand that a compromised credit card is not just about the money – that can be easily replaced. What is most important is your identity and when that is lost on the internet, it could be gone forever,” he said.

Any person who has had their credit card compromised should take appropriate steps to ensure to the best extent possible, their protection from identity theft.  People should consider having their credit rating monitored, look for anomalies in their financial accounts and be wary of unsolicited contact via phone or email.

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