Online fraud and scams
The term 'online fraud' refers to any type of fraud scheme that uses email, web sites, chat rooms or message boards to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to others connected with the scheme.
Online fraud is the jurisdiction of the state or territory police if the victim is a not a Commonwealth Government department or a Commonwealth Authority.
The Australian Federal Police investigates frauds committed against a Commonwealth Government department or a Commonwealth Authority.
In general, state or territory police jurisdiction exists:
in the state or territory where the offender has committed the crime, and
in the state or territory where the victim has been defrauded - this includes situations where the offender is located overseas.
If you are the victim of an online fraud or scam you should report the incident to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) at www.acorn.gov.au. Reports made to the ACORN may be referred to police for consideration and possible investigation.
Forms of online fraud
Internet banking fraud
Mobile banking
Phishing
Mule recruitment
Shopping and auction site fraud
Scams
Spam
Identity theft
Internet banking fraud
Internet banking fraud is fraud or theft committed using online technology to illegally remove money from, or transfer it to, a different bank account. Types of internet banking fraud include phishing and mule recruitment, and can happen through your smartphone, tablet and other mobile devices.
Mobile banking
Banking on your computer, tablet or smartphone is so convenient and banks protect your accounts with sophisticated software systems. Criminals know it's difficult to defeat these systems, so they focus on customers directly, tricking their victims into revealing confidential information.
Avoid becoming a victim by knowing how to protect your information and your mobile devices, and understand how criminals use scams to try to defraud people.
This fact sheet prepared by the Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) and the AFP provides some useful information and some simple security steps to protect your valuable personal information.
Phishing
Phishing involves using a form of spam to fraudulently gain access to people's internet banking details. The term 'phishing' refers to the use of spam e-mails purporting to be from a bank, in this way criminals 'fish' for legitimate bank customer's logon information.
Criminals send out millions of these fraudulent e-mails to random e-mail addresses in the hope of luring unsuspecting innocent persons into providing their personal banking details.
Typically, a phishing email will ask an internet banking customer to follow a link to a fake banking website and enter his or her personal banking details.
If the link is followed, the victim often also downloads a malicious program which captures his/her keyboard strokes including any typed information such as banking login details and sends them to a third party.As well as targeting internet banking customers, phishing emails may target online auction sites or other online payment facilities.
Legitimate banks do NOT send such emails to their customers.
The AFP works with the financial sector, internet security industries and relevant organisations to investigate crimes associated with phishing emails.
What you can do
It is important to also make others aware about these emails and encourage them to never respond to requests for personal details. Some email frauds/scams can seem extremely convincing, hence their effectiveness for criminals.
The AFP suggests that you treat phishing emails as spam delete them without opening. Spam emails are a proven method for distributing viruses and other unwanted programs.
It is not necessary to forward these emails to the AFP. Financial institutions and the AFP are made aware of current phishing emails as they happen via internal partnerships.
If you believe you are a victim and have lost money as a result of phishing activities, please contact your financial institution immediately.
Mule Recruitment
Diagram explaining mule recruitment
'Mule Recruitment' is an attempt to get a person to receive stolen funds using his or her bank account, and then transfer those funds to criminals overseas.
Usually, criminals send out millions of fraudulent job and employment emails to random email addresses, in the hope of involving unsuspecting, innocent persons in their criminal activity.
The AFP advises that you should ignore and immediately delete any such emails.
If you have received money in your bank account, transferred or attempted to transfer money overseas under these circumstances, please contact your financial institution immediately.
Depending on the situation, it is possible that people who agree to participate in such 'jobs' may be prosecuted.
Other methods of Mule recruitme