Queensland Consumer Watch: 16/10/2011

Government may allow catching of female mud crabs in Queensland

Main Roads, Fisheries and Marine Infrastructure

The Honourable Craig Wallace

22/10/2011

Jennys could claw their way onto Queensland plates

Fisheries Minister Craig Wallace is encouraging fishers across Queensland to have their say on Queensland's Fisheries regulations.

Mr Wallace said fishers are being given the opportunity to provide feedback on issues important to them.

"I am very interested in finding out what recreational fishers think about a limited take of female mud crabs," Mr Wallace said.

"Protection measures have been in place for 'Jennys' in Queensland for about 120 years, and while we need to continue to ensure sustainability of female mud crabs, I am interested to know what fishers think about a relaxing of restrictions.

"It has been illegal since the 1890s to take any female mud crabs in Queensland and what we are seeing is an abundance of 'Jennys' in Queensland waters.

"Since that time, fishers have only been allowed to catch male muddies so 'bucks' rarely grow larger than 15cm before they are caught.

"Fishing experts tell me that once females grow to more than 16 cm, they can no longer breed as they find it difficult to mate with smaller males.

"Often families go crabbing and only catch one or two big females, so I am asking what Queenslanders think about allowing a limited take of these big 'Jennys'.

"To restore a bit of balance to Queensland's mud crab population, I want to know how fishers would feel about allowing a limited lake of larger female mud crabs.

"An appropriate take could be, for example, one large female per boat per fishing trip, one large female per person per fishing trip or a limited number of females for a specific period of time.

"This is about getting the balance right between sustainability and Queenslanders' right to enjoy recreational fishing.

"We have some of the world's best seafood on offer here in Queensland and as a keen fisherman myself, I want Queensland fishers to be able to enjoy the sensational catches our waters have to offer while sustaining stocks for the future."

"I also regularly get feedback from fishers that some of our regulations can be confusing, such as the various size limits which apply for the take of Cod in Queensland.

"Different bag limits for different species can lead to uncertainty when fishing and I would be interested to hear from fishers how these rules could be simplified.

Queensland fishers can have their say at callweb@deedi.qld.gov.au by 30 November 2011.

Media Release: Call for lawyers to disclose property searches to clients

A call has been made for all Queensland lawyers to be forced by law to hand over council rates and property searches to clients who are purchasing homes or investment properties.

The call follows evidence to the Floods Inquiry that a Goodna woman was not provided with an Ipswich City Council flood search by her solicitor.

Mrs Natalia Ang purchased a property at Mill St Goodna but was never provided a copy of the flood search by her solicitor showing the property was 8 metres under water in 1974.

Ipswich Councillor Paul Tully said most solicitors in Queensland routinely failed to hand over copies of rates and flood searches to their clients.

Cr Tully said clients were paying hundreds of dollars for flood and property searches which are mostly not forwarded on to purchasers.

"The law should be changed to require solicitors to fully disclose all searches to their clients, not just some glib statement that they were satisfactory.

"Any lawyer who doesn't pass on the searches to their client is letting their client down."

Cr Tully said solicitors were "playing god" with their clients by not giving the information about property flood levels.

"This is disgraceful conduct by solicitors who are more interested in pocketing their clients' money than disclosing the results of all searches relating to the property.

"Failing to pass on key searches to clients is professionally negligent and a disgraceful way of treating clients who are paying good money for poor service," Cr Tully said.

SCAMwatch email alert: Phishing scams emails and SMS’ continue [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Phishing scams emails and SMS' continue

View radar online.

Added: October 2011

SCAMwatch is warning Australians to continue to be wary of phishing scams received by email or SMS following a twist which leads to fraudulent online banking transactions.

How the scam works

You receive a genuine looking email or SMS which appears to have come from a bank, financial institution, email provider, social networking service, payment service provider or telecommunications company, to name a few.
Emails may be convincing as they often contain official looking company logos, letterhead or signature blocks.
The email or message will give a false reason for you to provide personal and account details, for example:

It may claim that you online banking account (and passwords) or credit card account requires resetting and that your username, pin/password and mobile number are required.
It may claim that your credit card, email or social networking account has been compromised, frozen or cancelled and that personal and pin/password details are required to unlock it.

The scam email or SMS will often direct you to a scam website where you are required to enter the details. Beware the website may look like your bank, email provider or social networking site's official login page but is really a scam copy!

New Twist

Some internet banking systems send authentication messages to their account holder's mobile before they are able to make a transaction to a new party. Scammers are using phishing techniques to tap into these messages by:

Sending a phishing email to gather their victim's mobile number and internet banking passwords and usernames.
The details are used to access their victim's internet banking accounts and to get the victim's mobile number ported to a scam mobile phone.
Once this happens the victim's mobile phone will suddenly and unexpectedly be disconnected from their provider.
The scammer uses the scam mobile to get access to these authentication messages and to perpetrate fraudulent internet banking transactions.

Protect yourself

If you think you have provided your banking details to a scammer and /or your mobile is unexpectedly disconnected from your provider, contact both your bank and telecommunications provider immediately.
Never give your personal, credit card, online banking or mobile phone details in response to an unsolicited email or SMS.
Never enter personal or banking details into any website unless you are certain that the website is genuine. Especially never enter details into a website which you visited by clicking on a link in an email.
If you receive unsolicited emails, delete them immediately!
If in doubt about the authenticity of an email or SMS, always contact the business, service provider or bank to verify that the request is genuine. Never rely on contact details provided in the emails or SMS. Instead, find genuine contact details independently from an authentic source.
Keep your computer updated with the latest anti-virus and anti-spy ware software. Also, use a good firewall.

Report

You can report scams to the ACCC via the report a scam page on SCAMwatch or by calling 1300 795 995.

More information

Learn more about phishing scams via our Requests for your account information (phishing scams) page. SCAMwatch has also previously issued radars on phishing scams: