Scam Sense: Safeguarding Your Finances

Understanding the seriousness of scams is crucial, especially as Australians have lost $3 billion to scams last year. Scammers are constantly evolving, making awareness and education essential for protection.

- Discussing how to respond if you or someone you know becomes a scam victim 
- Reviewing a real-life scam case study to illustrate tactics used by fraudsters 
- Providing actionable steps to protect finances and identity after a scam 

If you found this useful, please share it with your friends or close relatives, and don't forget to follow us on Apple Podcasts and YouTube. 

Transcript

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Introduction to CyberEvident and Cyber Awareness

Speaker 1 0:02

Hi everyone , welcome to CyberEvident . This is a non-profit initiative to spread cyber awareness and help individuals , small businesses and communities . In this podcast , we will discuss if you or your loved one ever falls victim to a scam . But before that , do you know that Australians have lost $3 billion to scams last year ? Australians have lost $3 billion to scams last year , though we think that we are smart and we will never get scammed . But that's not what the scammers think . They are working day and night to find out the ways where they can even steal a single dollar from the people . As much as the car thieves are using new technologies to steal the cars , the online scammers are using technology advancement , pairing it with the fear to scam the people . But a thought comes to my mind what did we have if we ever get scammed ? Today , I'm going to tell you that you are not alone in this . The banks and the financial institutions are providing aid to help you get back on track .

Speaker 1 1:07

Let's start with a real-life example . Meet Sara , who is 42 years old , a marketing director from Sydney . One day she met a friend who was influenced through her Instagram advertisement , which provides 10 times guaranteed return of her initial investment in cryptocurrency . 10 times guaranteed return of her initial investment in cryptocurrency . This sounds familiar . Trusting her friend , she transferred over $5,000 to this platform . The platform websites looked professional , even had customer support and testimonials , but as soon as she tried to withdraw the earnings , the website was inaccessible . The account was disabled . She was unable to connect with them .

Speaker 1 1:49

What steps we have if it ever happens to you or your close relatives ? Step one you need to block the payment methods that you have used for the transfer . Step two secure your finances . Contact your bank and credit card providers . They may be able to reverse the transaction and may have a fraud protection enabled . If you have sent money via third-party platforms like PayPal , wise , connect with them . They might be having a fraud protection enabled as well . If this was a mobile application , google or Apple support may help you to get some money back which was transferred over a period of time .

Speaker 1 2:29

Step 3 is reporting the scams to the authorities . Australian Cyber Security Centres run an initiative which is Scam Watch . You can report the scam there . File a local police complaint if you have lost a significant amount of money . Bank and credit card companies have fraud protection teams that can help you to recover some of your money or support you if your identity got stolen . Some of the banks now offer scam reimbursement programs , so please connect with your provider . Step 4 is protecting your identity . If your personal details like passport , driving license or banking information was stolen , contact idcareorg Australia , national Identity and Cyber Support Services . Set up two-factor authentication and change your password immediately . Step five is getting support If scam have caused a financial distress , contact National Debt Helpline for free financial counseling .

Speaker 1 3:27

You might be wondering are banks and governments doing enough to combat the scams ? Let's dive into the latest changes . The Australian Banking Association has announced strong fraud prevention measures , including real-time monitoring of scams , increased reimbursement for certain types of scams , ai-powered fraud detection . The government is also stepping into with a new scam law which requires banks and telecom providers to detect the scams at earlier stages . So here's the truth Prevention is still the better protection .

Speaker 1 3:58

So before we wrap up this episode , let's go through a few of the tips the too-good-to-be-true rule If an offer seems too good to be true , it's probably is a scam . The verify before you trust rule Google the company . Read reviews and check scam watch before sending money . The think before you click rule Never click on a random link in the emails or the messaging they could be part of phishing attack . In the emails or the messaging they could be part of phishing attack . That's it for today's episode . If you found this useful , please share it with your friends or close relatives , and don't forget to follow us on Apple Podcasts and YouTube . Stay safe , stay cyber evident and see you next time .