Commerce North West administration officer Emma Harman said she had fielded several calls from people down south who were scammed after believing they were dealing with genuine businesses in the city.

"A lady in Tasmania called me to ask about a company called AC Equipment Sales operating out of 5 Enterprise Road, Ryan, which is is the address of Barkly Hire," Ms Harman said.

"She has bought an excavator from them and it is 'delayed'".

When the lady went back online the website has vanished.

The only company listed by that name is based in South Australia but this is a legitimate operation who she did not buy the machine from.

Ms Harman said a day earlier she received an email from a woman in Victoria asking about ACE Caravan and Camper Sales operating out of 3 Richardson Rd, Ryan which is the address of Bluescope Steel.

"In the past fortnight or so I have had three more phone calls about the caravans. Today's call is the first about excavators," she said.

The Ace Caravans and Campers website is still up and still lists the Ryan address.

"On Monday I reported Ace Caravans and Campers to the ACCC on behalf of the people who had called asking if they were a legitimate business," Ms Harman said.

"I believe that both businesses are scams. Both have similar names, both use a false address in Ryan, both have or had very legit looking websites and even their ABN's seem to check out. Both also sell their products at reduced prices. Both target people in southern states who have no way of going to Mount Isa to check out their stock."

Police urge people to always be vigilant before giving money or personal details online.

"It is important to take independent steps to verify their identity before providing any personal information or payments of any sort, irrespective of the phone number displayed, or who a caller claims to work for," Financial and Cyber Crime Group said.

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