Sunshine Coast residents are being warned to beware of scammers, with the latest wave of scams requesting victims purchase thousands of dollars of gift cards.
Local police have received multiple reports of a scam that involves elderly members of the community being asked for assistance to ‘scam the scammer’.
Victims are reporting that a scammer, pretending to be someone from the fraud or security team of well-known banks or telcos, rings to alert the victim of suspicious activity in their bank account.
The scammer then requests the victim to purchase gift cards and provide the details of those gift cards to the security team to help with a ‘sting’ on the scammer.
The victim is then promised that the institution will reimburse them for the purchase of the cards at the end of the day.
An example of this incident occurred on June 21, when a 66-year-old man, on behalf of a 91-year-old man, purchased $28,000 of gift cards from a shop in Kawana in one day.
Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Mansfield said police were working to educate Sunshine Coast businesses that sell gift cards about these types of scams.
He said officers were also warning anyone in the Sunshine Coast community that may receive a similar phone call.
“Scams are ever-changing and though this exact scenario may not be repeated, it’s important to be vigilant when engaging with people on the phone or online,” Detective Senior Sergeant Mansfield said.
“Being asked to purchase gift cards or transfer or withdraw money is a red flag.
“If in doubt, don’t engage, speak to your bank or telco directly, and report the potential scam.
“Please also look out for your older parents, neighbours or friends and encourage them to be wary.”
Police will continue to investigate alongside other government agencies.
Members of the public can report a scam via ASD ACSC’s (Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre) ReportCyber, the National Anti-Scam Centre or make an official complaint to your local police station.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink by providing information using the online suspicious activity form.
Crime can also be reported anonymously via Crime Stoppers or call 1800 333 000.
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