Detectives from the Financial and Cyber Crime Group have issued a warning to all Logan City and Scenic Rim residents about a scam using Queensland Police Service phone numbers to legitimise government or bank impersonation scams.
Recent reports indicate, the scammers are using a practice known as caller ID spoofing, where they inappropriately manipulate the telephone network to indicate the incoming call is from a different number (in these cases, a QPS number).
This scam involves you receiving a call from what appears to be a trusted or well-known government phone number and the caller impersonating an employee from the organisation (in this case a police officer) to legitimise the scam. The scammer threatens you in relation to an outstanding fine or fee, for example, a debt with the Australian Taxation Office or a warrant for your arrest or deportation. The scammer then demands a form of payment to prevent action against you.
Detective Acting Superintendent Vince Byrnes from the Financial and Cyber Crime Group urged residents to always be vigilant when receiving phone calls from people asking for money or personal details.
“Police, or any other legitimate government department or financial institution, will never call you and ask for your personal banking information or payments in gift cards, cryptocurrency or money transfers.
Queensland Police officers will never:
- Contact you to ask for your Personal Identification Number (PIN) or bank details
- Ask you to transfer money out of your account
- Ask you to withdraw cash to hand over to them for safe-keeping
- Send someone to your home to collect cash, cards or your PIN
If you have received such a call and made a payment to a scammer, contact your financial institution immediately and report the matter to the Australian Cyber Security Centre – ReportCyber
If you did not lose any funds you can still report the incident to Scamwatch
