Received a strange bill lately? It could be a scam.
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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is warning people to beware scammers impersonating energy and telecommunication providers and demanding money.
It comes after its Scamwatch service received 5000 reports of fake billing scams in the last 12 months. Reported losses are close to $8000.
"The scammers typically impersonate well known companies such as Origin, AGL, Telstra and Optus via email, to fool people into assuming the bills are real," said the commission's deputy chair Delia Rickard.
"They send bulk emails or letters which include a logo and design features closely copied from the genuine provider. The bill states the account is overdue and if not paid immediately the customer will incur late charges or be disconnected.
"Alternatively, the bill may claim that the customer has overpaid and is owed a refund or it may simply say the bill is due and ready to pay."
Ms Rickard said older people should be particularly wary as most of the fake billing incidents have been reported by over 65s.
If you have received a suspicious bill, contact your provider through their official channels to verify it's actually from them.
"Customers should never use the contact details provided on the suspicious email or letter but instead use an independent source to locate contact details such as a past bill or the phone book," Ms Rickard said.
"If customers are duped into phoning scammers they will then attempt to steal as much personal information as they can."
How to protect yourself
- If you receive a bill outside of your normal billing cycle, or don't expect to receive an overdue notice, call your provider to check whether it is legitimate.
- If you are not a customer of the company simply delete the email.
- Never click on links or open attachments in an email from an unverified sender - they may contain a malicious virus.
- Never send money or give credit card details, online account details or personal information to anyone you don't know or trust and never by email or over the phone.
- Keep your computer secure - always update your firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and only buy from a verified source.
This article first appeared on www.thesenior.com.au
