Scam letters intercepted and destroyed by Consumer Protection
Issue Date: - Monday, 17 August 2009
More than 10,000 scam letters destined for the letterboxes of potential victims in Western Australia have been intercepted by Consumer Protection.
In cooperation with Australia Post, the letters have been identified and seized by Consumer Protection’s WA ScamNet officers and will be destroyed.
More than a thousand of the postal articles are from a bogus Malaysian travel company, Starize Travelling Group, who claim to have been in operation since 1988. Their website was registered with a Chinese internet service provider in March this year.
The envelopes contain a glossy eight-page brochure touting for business, as well as “scratchie” lottery tickets offering prizes of up to $US 200,000.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection Anne Driscoll said this fraud first surfaced in May after a flood of complaints from consumers who had received the offers in the mail.
“Those who called us reported winning the second prize of 150,000 US dollars but, to receive the prize, winners must provide their personal details and pay taxes or other charges”, Ms Driscoll said.
“One complainant who contacted the scam promoters was asked to confirm their identity by faxing copies of their passport, birth certificate and driver’s licence.
“The complainant was then contacted by a ‘Mr Lee’ of the ‘Hong Kong Monetary Fund Company’, who advised that the Hong Kong Government required a six percent fee to transfer the funds. Mr Lee generously offered to pay half the fee on the winner’s behalf, saying they would only have to wire him $4,500 to receive their prize.”
“Following these complaints, Consumer Protection asked Australia Post to intercept any further mail from this source and this resulted in the latest consignment being intercepted.”
The other 9,000 postal articles are a variety of scams, trying to get money or personal details from recipients. These include:
International Designer World – selling designer leather chequebook wallets containing a cheque for $US 2,500 for a “special discount fee”.
Markham, Donnelly and Associates – offering a prize of $US 9,000 if recipients pay $33.49 in postage and handling costs to get their money or, for an extra $6.99, to get ripped-off faster.
International Payment Centre – requires recipients to send $39.95 to qualify to win a Ford Mustang, a variety of electrical items or a cheque for $US 2,471.
A survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2007 found that personal fraud is a billion dollar industry in this country. The survey found 453,100 Australians lost, on average, $2,160 each to credit card/bank fraud, identity theft or scams.
“We will continue to be vigilant in putting a stop to these postal scams whenever we can, as well as issuing warnings about email and sms scams to keep consumers informed so they don’t become victims,” Ms Driscoll said.
More information about scams is available from the WA ScamNet website at www.commerce.wa.gov.au/wascamnet. Consumers and traders can subscribe to WA ScamNet alerts free of charge.
END OF RELEASE
Media Contact: Alan Hynd (Consumer Protection)
9282 0679 or 0429-078791 alan.hynd@commerce.wa.gov.au
For Australia Post: Suzanne Browne 9237 5235 (Media only)