POLICE are warning Ipswich residents to be wary when buying or selling
on the internet, following reports that overseas crooks are targeting
people advertising used cars online.
Ipswich district crime manager Acting Senior Sergeant Greg Smith said
police had heard complaints from people who had been fleeced of up to
$2500 after being caught up in the scam.
Senior Sergeant Smith said this type of hi-tech crime was being
reported more frequently.
"The scammer will contact the victim who is selling their car online," he said.
"They will say they are not in Australia and that the vehicle is for
their dad or for a church custodian."
The dodgy buyer will then tell the seller that the only way they can
pay is via a dedicated online payment service.
Although the payment service is legitimate, the buyer will then advise
that they will be using an agent to pick up the vehicle and requires
the victim to transfer money into the agent's account – promising to
reimburse them via direct payment from the online payment system.
Senior Sergeant Smith said the criminals would often send through a
fake email, claiming to be from the payment service, advising the
victim that the money was ready to be reimbursed once they deposited
money in the agent's account.
"If they manage to get that first bit of money off you, they'll then
ask for money for things like insurance costs and any other feasible
expense," he said.
"We've heard of people being asked to pay for the cost of forklift hire."
Police have encouraged people who receive such requests to ask as many
questions of the potential buyer as possible.
Senior Sergeant Smith said there was nothing wrong with being
sceptical, especially if the cost of shipping the car was high in
proportion to the car's value.
Police have also warned of a scam targeting PC owners where a person
calls and claims to be a representative of a Microsoft-associated
company.
The scammer claims the victim's computer is at risk and requests
remote access to fix the problem.
They will ask for up to $400 for a non-existent, ongoing "monitoring service".
For more information on fraud prevention or to report advance fee
fraud, visit www.police.qld.gov.au.
