6 March 2009

Keeping tabs on scammers for a decade

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs’ Scamwatch website turns ten years old this year. But the scammers are still scamming and people are still losing their hard-earned cash to them.

“When Scamwatch was first set up ten years ago the internet was pretty much still in it’s infancy — but the scammers were still around. Back then though they were probably more likely to contact you by traditional methods such as letter or fax,” says Liz MacPherson, General Manager of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

“With the advance of the internet and mobile technology we see the same old tricks, but now it’s through new mediums such as social networking websites and text messaging.

“Scammers have kept up with the times and it’s a pretty safe assumption that as technology continues to advance, so will the scammers’ methods and tactics,” says Liz MacPherson.

That’s why Scamwatch remains as relevant today as it was ten years ago. Consumers will continue to need to keep up to speed with the scammers’ latest tricks so they know how to protect themselves.

“During this Fraud Awareness Week we are encouraging people not only to visit Scamwatch to get up to speed with the types of scams that are around at the moment, but also to report scams to us via the website. That way we can keep track of any new scams that are appearing,” says Liz.

For more information, visit the Scamwatch website.

Background information

International Context

Fraud Awareness Week initiatives are part of a worldwide effort by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network. In Australia and New Zealand, initiatives are run under the umbrella of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce (ACFT). The ACFT was established in March 2005 and comprises of 19 trans-Tasman government regulatory agencies and departments.

New Zealand Co-ordination

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the Commerce Commission are members of the ACFT and co-ordinate the New Zealand initiative, with a number of other organisations that undertake their own action in parallel.

Organisations undertaking parallel action during Fraud Awareness Week 2009 include:

• Banking Ombudsman
• Department of Internal Affairs
• IAG
• Ministry of Economic Development
• Ministry of Justice
• New Zealand Bankers Association
• New Zealand Police
• NetSafe
• Privacy Commissioner
• Securities Commission
• Serious Fraud Office
• Symantec
• Telecom
• Telstra Clear
• Trade Me
• Visa New Zealand
• Vodafone
• New Zealand Western Union & a number of community organisations.

Fraud Awareness Week Action

During Fraud Awareness Week 2009, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has launched an awareness campaign based upon four stories of scam ‘victims’. These scam stories are based upon real scam scenarios and reports. The characters are portrayed by models for the purposes of the campaign.

The scam stories are based around four major scam areas: lottery scams; phishing & identity theft; romance & dating scams; and holiday voucher scams.

Activity will focus on raising awareness of scams, reminding people not to respond to them, and directing people to Scamwatch for more information and to report scams.