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Indians and Pakistani’s falling for this brazen scam
There have been at least 150 reports of a scam in which some AU$35,000 have been handed over to scammers by Indian and Pakistani nationals after they received phone and email threats that their immigration papers were out of order and that they were going to be deported unless they paid fines and fees to fix the problems, according to SCAMwatch, a division of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Migrants are being warned to be aware of calls from scammers claiming to be from the 'Department of Immigration' threatening them with deportation and demanding money.
The ACCC and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) have been getting reports of scammers claiming to be government officials. The scammers call migrants and temporary visa holders and threaten them with deportation supposedly because of problems with their immigration paperwork or visa status.
“Scammers are demanding up-front fees of around $1,000 to resubmit forms. These scam phone calls appear to be targeting people from India and Pakistan. The ACCC has received 150 reports of this scam since February with more than $35,000 reported lost,” according to the ACCC statement.
“Scammers may try to pressure you by calling repeatedly and harassing you, even threatening to send the police to your house – but if you give your money to a scammer you will never see it again,” warns the ACCC.
The DIBP has confirmed that it does not ask for any payment of fines or penalties by telephone.
Be on guard, if you receive a phone call from someone threatening you with deportation and asking you to pay a fee, hang up and do not respond. If in doubt, don’t use any contact details provided by the caller - look up the government department or organisation yourself in the phone book or online and phone or email them.
According to the ACCC, this is how these scams work
- you receive a call out of the blue from someone claiming to be from the 'Department of Immigration'
- you may be left a message on your answering machine asking you to ring a number
- the caller will claim that you have issues with your immigration forms or visa status
- the caller will tell you that in order to resolve the matter you will need to pay a fee or fine
- the caller may try to get information from you like your passport details, date of birth or bank information
- the caller may claim the police will come to your door and arrest you if you do not pay the fee or fine immediately
- the caller may even offer to send a taxi to your house to take you to the nearest post office to make a payment via wire transfer or other electronic payment method
- if you send any money via wire transfer, you will never see it again – it’s nearly impossible to recover money sent this way
- if you provide any personal information, the scammer may use it to commit identity theft.
The simple rules for avoiding such scams are simply not to send any money via wire transfer to anyone you do not know or trust. Just do not give your personal information or bank account details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source. If you think you have provided your details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.
You can report immigration fraud matters to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection through their Immigration Dob-In Service 1800 009 623. You can report scams to the ACCC via the SCAMwatch report a scam page or by calling 1300 795 995.
Comments
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Thursday, 23 April 2015These scams are likely to continue as long as DIBP officers are inclined to ring clients , identify themselves as "Jeff' from DIBP etc..My advice to any of my clients is that if someone from DIBP rings you say " How do I know you are from DIBP, please contact my Solicitor"
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Thursday, 23 April 2015Sorry, Chris, but you know what that might do to the ego and anger button of some pimply faced officer. I suggest "No Speakee Inglees" is still good for both the department and other scam artists. It frustrates the callers but does not anger them.
From many years of defending criminals, I can state safely that crooks--no matter where they are from--always think of a successful criminal act as a down payment donated go them by the victim, and the victim will be victimized again as soon as the criminal feels it is safe to do so. Non communication is usually the safest route. Of course, if you are the person's solicitor, then saying "please contact my Solicitor" might actually work. -
Friday, 24 April 2015
I received call due to my surname and I believe it was taken from the white pages or phone book. I laughed for 5 minutes when she called me at 7pm and the caller was frustrated with me. I wanted to record the conversation so I was playing around to see what they ask but after few min I told her I am calling police now and she hanged up.
Second time I just said I have your number and I will report you to police and they have not called me since.
It is sad to see that the scammers are actually targeting their own people. They pray on the people who are worried and scarred from the authority as many ordinary people are in India and Pakistan and many other countries, so they are happy to pay to "please" the authority demanding it. I have also received few call saying they are from ATO as well.
Immigration blog
One other bad side effect of paying money to any scam artist is that you get on their sucker list--which they are happy to sell to other scam artists for cash in hand. Part of the problem for the victims is that they often do not understand English well enough to feel confident to call or write the department to confirm the information. Even reading these blogs would be very difficult for some of the migrants.