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1 in 6 older adults fall victim to impersonation scams

More older adults are likely to fall victim to scams than are currently recognised according to new US research. The problems are global. <div class="copy"> A research team from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, US, says older Americans who aren’t cognitively impeded, are also at risk. In their study <a href="https://10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.35319" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> today in JAMA Network Open, the group reports on a behavioural experiment where they targeted 644 adults aged 64-104 in Rush’s Memory and Aging Project – a local scheme that draws on participants from metropolitan Chicago to participate in research – with a pitch mimicking a real-world impersonation scam. The study’s fictitious ‘US Retirement Protection Task Force’ pitched itself to participants as a government social security initiative. This USRPTF told participants via either post, email or a telephone call there’d been irregular activity on their Medicare or social security file and the inquiry was a routine account security check. As part of this, the fake agency asked participants to call a telephone hotline or login to a provided website to provide their details. Over two-thirds of the study failed to respond to any attempts to obtain information by the phoney scheme. The remainder were evenly split by either responding to requests for contact, but expressing scepticism at the authenticity of the USRPTF, or by responding and engaging with the request for information. Those who were engaged with the request for information, but expressed doubts, were also those with the highest cognitive performance, and lowest proportion of dementia. They were also the most financially literate participants, while those who provided their details had the lowest literacy. Those who provided details were also found to have the lowest scam awareness of all participants. Among this group, 1 in 10 willingly provided personal information and 1 in 5 provided details of their social security number. “If extrapolated to a population level, these numbers are astounding and suggest that a very large number of older adults are at risk of victimisation,” the authors say. They also note that, given the use of a fictitious US government organisation name, the number of people vulnerable to well-organised scams is likely much higher. Last year, the US National Council on Aging reported 92,371 older Americans were defrauded of a total of US$1.7 billion. Most were victims of government department impersonation, sweepstakes and robocall scams. Often such scams will simply demand payment while ‘spoofing’ the phone number of a government agency to add the veil of legitimacy. It’s a similar story around the world. This year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found Australians lost a record $3.1 billion last year, mostly via phone scams. Australians over 65 years of age accounted for a quarter of losses and reports. The UK’s Action Fraud initiative found Britons lost about ₤2.35 billion in the 2020/21 financial year, with those aged 50-69 most susceptible to falling victim. <div> Image credits: Getty Images <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/society/1-in-6-older-adults-fall-victim-to-impersonation-scams/">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="null">Cosmos</a>. </div> </div>

Legal

Hilarious reason dad couldn't be fooled by online scam

One savvy dad has outwitted a scammer who posed as his daughter, after the scammer made one hilarious error. Ian Whitworth, a dad from Sydney, took to his LinkedIn page to share the message a scammer texted him in a classic phishing scam that targets parents. He shared the photo of what he thought was the "funniest phishing text any parent has ever received". The text read, "Hey dad, dropped my phone in the sink while doing the dishes. Its unresponsive this is my new number for now just text me here x." Despite the terrible grammar and punctuation that would immediately alert anyone to the possibility of a scam, it was something else that caught the dad's attention. Instead, Whitworth said it was the fact his daughter would never do the chore mentioned by the scammers. Still, he thought it was worth sharing a photo of the text in a bid to warn others, which he uploaded along with the comment, "Cybersecurity update. I just got this." "Perhaps the funniest phishing txt any parent has ever received. 'Doing the dishes', yeah, for sure." In a reply to one of the people who commented on his post, Whitworth joked that his daughter "at age four emerged from my parents' kitchen with a shocked look on her face. 'What's pop doing?'. He was washing up in the sink." Another commenter wrote, "Haha! There is NO WAY this is from my son or daughter, that's for sure." Another commenter said the giveaway that it wasn't from his own child was that they didn't immediately ask for money, to which Whitworth replied, "Ha, yeah, the phishers are like the seven step ladder of confidence before the money issue gets raised. Actual kids: MONEY NOW." According to the federal government's Scamwatch website run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the "Friends/Family Hi Mum" impersonation scam was common. "Scammers send messages pretending to be a family member or a friend desperate for money," it said. "They say they have a new phone and they need you to pay money to help them out of a crisis." Scamwatch warns: "Don't assume a person you are dealing with is who they say they are" and offers the following advice. "If someone you know sends a message to say they have a new phone number, try to call them on the existing number you have for them, or message them on the new number with a question only they would know the answer to," it said. "That way you will know if they are who they say they are." Image credits: Getty Images / LinkedIn

Legal

Heavily pregnant mum and disabled child kicked off plane

Siobhan Foster, her husband, and their disabled child were kicked off their flight after she was accused of being "aggressive" by a flight attendant. Foster, who is seven months pregnant, was onboard an easyJet flight to Ibiza to celebrate her brother's wedding. She struggled to find room for her carry-on in the overhead baggage compartment, so she asked a flight attendant to help her find space, but the response was reportedly "a sharp ‘Clearly Not’", which eventually led to a dispute. When things escalated, all 180 passengers were eventually told to disembark. One of Foster's outraged friends posted the <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/23859832/easyjet-passengers-kicked-off-pregnant-mum-stewardess-fight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> on social media, and the Newtonabbey mum was seen collecting hand luggage while struggling to carry her toddler. “We’re being thrown off the plane today because of somebody thinking they’re better than everyone else,” the friend said. The easyJet stewardess responded: “Bye, bye bye," as the upset family walked down the stairs. Foster took to Facebook to complain about her experience with "sleezy jet". “So, I asked could you help me find somewhere, her reply was ‘You’ll need to find somewhere yourself’ even though there literally was nowhere," she wrote. She then claimed that she asked for help again, because she was heavily pregnant, to which the flight attendant allegedly said: "You’re being abusive and it’s not my job to help you.” Another flight attendant reportedly backed up her co-worker, but Foster argued that other airlines have been more helpful as she is pregnant. “Writing this, I understand it would make you think was I being abusive, but I honestly wasn’t and the whole plane can vouch for me,” Foster wrote. “People were actually putting this on [Facebook] about how bad I was treated.” After eventually finding a place for her bag, the pregnant mum was allegedly confronted by two other crew members who also accused her of being “aggressive.” Foster decided to ignore them because she was "crying" and "so upset," but the flight attendant reportedly started raising her voice. They were then kicked off, and were told it was because of Foster's aggression, but when Foster’s mum and brother asked for an exact reason, the crew members allegedly couldn't give them a direct response. After an hour, everyone had to disembark and the family were met by eight police officers and two Swissport employees and were told they would not be allowed back on the flight, despite other passengers being allowed back in. “So, that whole day we were in Belfast airport from one lunchtime to nine that night with our child, my legs were so swollen and sore with being on them all this time I was crying uncontrollably that this was happening to us for no reason whatsoever. “I’m so traumatized to the point I don’t know how I’ll ever fly again,” she wrote on Facebook. EasyJet has denied any wrongdoing and a spokesperson told the Daily Mail that "a group of passengers were "behaving disruptively." “EasyJet’s cabin crew and ground agents are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time. “The Captain took the decision to ask all passengers on the flight to return to the terminal so the situation could be resolved and as soon as it was they re-boarded and the aircraft continued to Ibiza.” Despite the incident, the Foster family eventually made it to Ibiza the next day, just in time for the wedding, after catching a RyanAir flight out of Dublin. “Thankfully we got to Ibiza and made my brother’s wedding to say how stressed, upset, and overwhelmed I’ve been I honestly think I’ve no words,” she wrote. “EasyJet should be ashamed of themselves and I most definitely am taking this further, I’m still in shock of how we were treated especially being seven months pregnant and having a disabled child with us.” Images: Facebook

Travel Trouble

Facebook Messenger scams are on the rise – here’s how to protect yourself

Facebook Messenger scams prey on our vulnerabilities Scams through Facebook’s Messenger platform are being reported at higher rates than ever before, according to AARP, citing its own data as well as that of the government. Since Facebook’s early days, cybercriminals have been mining Facebook’s direct-messaging capabilities to scam unsuspecting victims out of money. One of the earliest Facebook Messenger scams involved a message, purportedly from a friend, claiming they were stuck in a foreign country and in desperate need of immediate financial assistance to get out. It wasn’t really the friend, however, but rather a scammer who had hacked into the friend’s account. Imposter scams such as “the friend in a foreign country” have evolved and proliferated over the years. The common thread is the scammer either creates an account impersonating an actual Facebook account or hacks into an existing Facebook account. In either case, the scammer then uses the fake/hacked account to send private messages to the account holder’s friends that elicit either money or personal information. The messages vary, but all are designed to prey on our human vulnerabilities, including: <ul> <li>the desire to be a “hero”</li> <li>the desire to appear “generous”</li> <li>the desire to win “free money”</li> <li>the desire to be loved and admired</li> <li>the desire to avoid shame or punishment</li> </ul> If a scammer tries to message you, report them, Facebook advises, but that begs the larger question of how does one recognise a Facebook Messenger scam? Current Messenger Facebook scams According to Facebook and our cybersecurity experts, here are the most common Facebook Messenger scams today: Romance scams. Preying on our desire to be loved and admired, romance scammers appear as attractive strangers with sad stories and a desire to love and be loved. The most effective romance scammers will friend a number of mutual friends before reaching out to any of them, in an attempt to make themselves seem less like strangers and more like people in the same social network. Many use photos they’ve stolen off the Internet and many pose as members of the military or as doctors, in an attempt to inspire trust, admiration, and even authority. What they all have in common is they can’t meet you just yet because they’re somewhere far away, and although it may take a bit of time, even as much as several weeks, they will eventually ask you to send money so that they can come to see you. Lottery scams. Preying on our desire for “free money,” lottery scammers appear as friends or organisations who are thrilled to tell you you’ve won money in some lottery or contest. The common thread? It’s a contest you have no recollection of having entered and to get the prize, you’ll have to either pay a fee or “refundable” advance or provide personal information. Inheritance scams. Also preying on our desire for free money, inheritance scammers claim to be lawyers or others who represent someone who has died and supposedly left you their estate or some portion of it – but first, you’ll have to fork over some money or personal information. Loan scams. Another variation on the “free money” theme is the loan scam, whereby the scammer promises low-interest loans with no money down – except for a “refundable” application fee. Facebook points out that loan scammers may send messages via Messenger and also leave posts and comments on Pages and in Groups to legitimise themselves. However, legitimate lenders wouldn’t offer loans via Facebook Messenger, nor would they ask you for money to proceed with a loan application. Donation scams. Facebook specifically warns users to watch out for “famous people” or people claiming to represent a charity hitting them up for a donation. Donation scams, which are easy money for a scammer because they are a direct request for payment, prey on our desire to be perceived, or to perceive ourselves, as generous. “Hey, is this you?” scams. Consumer Affairs warns of this “phishing scam” that uses the threat of shame to goad you into giving up personal information. The scammer hacks into one of your Facebook friend’s Messenger accounts and sends you a video, asking if it’s really you in the video, and implying there’s something in the video that could embarrass you. If you ever get a message like this, Consumer Affairs urges you to ignore and delete it to avoid giving away personal information or introducing a virus onto your computer. Red flags to watch out for Unfortunately, Facebook Messenger scams evolve rapidly (as soon as we suss them out, there are several more to replace them). So, it’s a good idea to be aware of these warning signs that we culled from our experts: Someone is asking you for money. While Facebook warns specifically against strangers asking for money, Rachel Wilson, investigative coordinator for The Smith Investigation Agency, points out to Reader’s Digest that any time anyone asks you for money over Messenger, it’s immediately suspect. “If friends or family ask you to help them in an emergency, always call to speak with them personally to confirm that the message originated with them.” Someone is getting a little too personal. When someone sends you a message requesting personal information, especially financial information, it should be considered suspicious, advises Sean Messier, credit industry analyst for Credit Card Insider. Messier suggests not revealing any such information until you’re certain the message-sender is who they claim to be, but it’s probably also a good idea to never reveal any such information over Messenger at all. Someone is offering something for free. You know how they say there’s no such thing as a free lunch? Well, there’s no such thing as free money on Facebook, points out Robert Siciliano, security expert. This is true for any kind of “free money” Messenger message, including those involving lotteries, loans, contest winnings, inheritances, lost bank accounts, and reimbursements of money owed. Someone who wants to take the conversation off Facebook (to text or email, etc). Facebook warns against taking conversations off Facebook unless you’re absolutely certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the message sender is who they say they are. Messages that seem out of character for the sender. If a message seems “out of the norm” for the sender, trust your instincts and ignore it. This is doubly true if the message includes an attachment. Be very wary of opening attachments in general, and particularly if something seems “off” about the message or the sender. Messages rife with spelling and grammatical errors. Facebook points out that when a message is filled with typos and grammatical errors, you should have your guard up. A single typo is one thing, but things like the misspelling of names and places are a big red flag. Messages from new accounts with few friends. Roger Thompson, CEO of Thompson Cybersecurity Labs, points out that new accounts with few friends should always be considered suspicious until confirmed otherwise. Friend requests from such accounts and from duplicate friend accounts should be considered suspect as well. To avoid getting hacked (and used by a cybercriminal in an imposter scam), Wilson recommends updating your social media passwords regularly and always use two-factor authentication. She also notes that with Facebook use increasing among seniors, it would be a good deed to speak to older family members about Messenger scams and how to avoid them. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/true-stories-lifestyle/science-technology/facebook-messenger-scams-are-on-the-rise-heres-how-to-protect-yourself" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.

Technology

Thief asks woman out on date after robbing her at gunpoint

A US woman has gone through the harrowing experience of being robbed at gunpoint, but it was what happened after the fact that was almost as eerie. Amber Beraun was checking the mail one night at her Indianapolis home in May when she was approached by a man with a gun. The gunman was later identified as Damien Boyce. Speaking to WRTV, Beraun said she was confronted by Boyce, who attempted to enter her home. She refused and gave him all the cash she had handy, which came to $100. Before he made his escape, Boyce asked Beraun a very unexpected, and quite frankly bizarre question - to add him on Facebook. The thief also noted he was planning to pay her back. Beraun responded, telling him she “believed” him and that “times just get rough”. Boyce proceeded to ask the woman to “come chill”. He was later arrested by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and charged over a separate armed robbery on June 12, where two people got shot and one was hit in the head with a brick. He was also charged with his robbery of Beraun. Beraun said her local neighbourhood has been affected by the terrifying incident. "It makes me a little on edge knowing that people walk up and down the street, looking for places to commit crimes," she said. "It makes it a little different when you hear noises at night." Beraun insisted she "never" thought something like this would happen to her. "He took away my sense of safety from my home." Image credit: ABC America

Legal

Don't get caught out: 6 holiday scams ripping off travellers

If you’re planning to take a trip across the world soon, then be warned, as there is an influx of new holiday scams affecting tourists as they travel to their dream break. Holiday-makers have money to spend and relaxation on their minds, which is why they are seen as easy targets for con artists. UK-based consumer group <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Which?</a> has listed the six most common frauds travellers need to be aware of, along with tips on how to avoid getting scammed, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a> reported. So, if you’re planning a trip abroad, here are the things you need to watch out for: 1. Accommodation booking scams While the introduction of the internet has been a blessing in terms of ease, it’s also made it easier for scammers to lure you into their traps. With the growth of online holiday bookings, fraudsters often need nothing more than a few fake pictures to lure their victims. A common scam is one that includes picturesque photographs of holiday rentals that don’t seem to exist, advertised at affordable price points. The deals were often advertised on mainstream websites but asked those who were interested in booking to contact them via email, rather than use the site’s own booking system. Bookers were then sent a link to a convincing payment page, which suggested the payment hadn’t cleared. They then ask for a bank transfer instead. How to protect yourself: Do your research. Google the property to see if it shows up on other reputable websites to check its authenticity. You could use Google Maps and Street View to see if the accommodation actually exists. Also, never pay by bank transfer. 2. Dodgy flight deals Con artists have created fake airline websites that advertise budget deals on long haul flights that leave their victims high and dry. The UK government’s fraud agency has reported a recent surge of scams targeting those who are travelling to Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In many instances, tickets were purchased with stolen credit cards and then sold to unsuspecting victims, complete with a reference number. But tickets were then cancelled after the credit card was reported as stolen, leaving the victims out of pocket and nothing to show for it. How to protect yourself: Book tickets through trusted agencies. 3. Wi-Fi hacks It’s become human instinct to try and find Wi-Fi wherever you go, and the same applies when travellers land at airports. While it’s important to stay connected in order to get in touch with friends and family, there is a risk involved. Fraudsters have set up their own free networks in airports and use them to gain free information about anyone that logs on. Many passengers have been tricked into entering their credit card details before logging on. How to protect yourself: Ask airport staff about the real Wi-Fi connection to make sure it’s the real deal and be on the lookout for connections that don’t ask for passwords straight away. Also, if you are asked for confidential information then provide fake details where possible. 4. “Free” holidays This decade-long scam has been one that con artists have perfected throughout the years. Back in the day, people would be pressured into buying timeshares after accepting a complimentary break. Now, the con is conducted through scratch cards and other fake competitions. In one example of the scam, around 500 British travellers in Spain’s Costa del Sol have been scammed of around $27.5 million in the last year alone. How to protect yourself: Refuse all offers of free holidays because if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is. Do you know of any other travel scams? Let us know in the comments below. 5. Document fraud Over the years, the internet has seen a growth in websites selling fake travel visas and other important documents needed to visit foreign countries. A few cases were found to not be conducting illegal activity but were responsible for reselling documents at a huge premium compared to official channels. Some common examples included websites selling the European Health Insurance Card and US visa (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation, or ESTA) documents. While the sites looked extremely convincing, they had nothing to do with the governments of the countries they claimed to represent. According to Which?, out of the top 20 search results for “ESTA visa” over half were unofficial. How to protect yourself: Follow links to official government websites through the Department of Foreign Affairs website. 6. Fake tickets It’s no secret that music concerts and major sporting events are on top of the list of potential scams, but travellers are now falling victim to fake packages to international events and are only finding out the true worth of their ticket once they arrive in the country. The FIFA World Cup in Russia was one example where countless websites offered travel packages including tickets when the only tickets that were considered valid and authentic were the ones purchased directly from FIFA themselves. Scammers love to lure desperate fans with fake tickets, as they know the demand is high and it’s easy to trap people who are willing to go the extra mile for a ticket to their chosen event. How to protect yourself: Make sure the tickets you are purchasing are from legitimate websites and web pages that start with “https” and have the padlock symbol in the URL bar. And if you’re on the hunt for second-hand tickets, then do a quick check if whether or not resale is allowed, as some tickets are only valid for the original buyer. “Criminals are finding ever more sophisticated ways to dupe holiday-makers, both in the booking process and when they’re on the holiday itself,” Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said. “If something seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is. Don’t hand your money over until you can be sure it’s the real deal.” Images: Getty

Travel Trouble

Get-rich-quick schemes, pyramids and ponzis: five signs you’re being scammed

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bomikazi-zeka-680577">Bomikazi Zeka</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/abdul-latif-alhassan-1390159">Abdul Latif Alhassan</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a> Consumers are under a lot of financial strain. The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/cost-of-living-crisis-global-impact/">World Economic Forum</a> reports that the cost-of-living crisis is affecting people across the globe. With food and fuel prices rising, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep financially afloat. On top of that, salaries <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/workers-pay-globally-hasnt-kept-up-with-inflation-e6df92d">aren’t keeping up with inflation</a>, making it more difficult to save and build wealth. It’s during such times of economic difficulty and uncertainty that fraudsters lure unsuspecting consumers into “<a href="https://www.sabric.co.za/">get-rich-quick</a>” schemes, offering <a href="https://www.sabric.co.za/stay-safe/ponzi-pyramid-schemes/">an avenue to make easy money</a> by investing in a “lucrative” financial opportunity. Nothing beats the prospect of making easy money, and every now and again there seems to be a “get-rich-quick” scheme circulating on WhatsApp or on social media that seems legitimate. But it’s not. Our research interests centre on financial systems in emerging economies, and we advocate for financial inclusion and empowering marginalised communities through financial literacy and financial planning. We use our academic platform to share our expertise on finance, including common financial traps people should steer clear of. “Get-rich-quick” schemes are one such trap. They’re also sometimes called ponzi or pyramid schemes. The schemes are a form of <a href="https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/financial-fraud">financial fraud</a>. The people running them take money through deception: the misrepresentation of information and identity. They promise financial benefits that don’t exist. You should avoid them because, more often than not, they are bogus and fraudulent business ventures. There have been some massive fraud schemes over the past 30 years. In the early 1990s, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/mmm-global-russian-ponzi-scheme-from-1990s-reborn-and-now-spreading-like-wildfire-in-africa-a7333366.html">MMM Global</a> - one of the world’s largest and most notorious ponzi schemes - defrauded up to 40 million people, who lost an estimated $10 billion. Ponzi schemes have since resurfaced in different forms in <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/news/ponzi-scheme-investigated-as-some-victims-lost-as-much-as-r200-000-c3c3633c-2abb-4dd4-b668-a5ea608deb41">South Africa</a>, <a href="https://guardian.ng/business-services/nigerians-lose-over-n911b-to-ponzi-schemes-related-fraud-in-23-years/">Nigeria</a>, <a href="https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/zimbabwe-money-pyramids-ponzi-schemes/6305100.html">Zimbabwe</a>, <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202105170964.html">Kenya</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-09-2020-0177">Ghana</a> and several other African countries. There are five tell-tale signs of a “get-rich-quick” scheme. Watch out for them. <h2>The five tell-tale signs</h2> Firstly, they offer exaggerated and above-market returns within a short period of time, with the promise of little to no risk. There are two golden rules when it comes to investing. The first is that it takes time to make money. Amassing a small fortune within a short space of time should raise questions about the scheme. The second rule is: the higher the risk, the higher the return. In other words, no investment is risk free or can guarantee significant returns. There is always some risk involved. An investment that promises substantial returns tends to be quite risky, which repels most people with a low appetite for risk. Secondly, new members are constantly recruited to join the scheme. Typically, such schemes are sustained by relying on the investments of new members to pay existing members. Once the number of existing members exceeds new members, the scheme goes “belly-up”. At best you lose out on the returns you were promised. At worst you lose all the money you’ve invested. When the scheme collapses, it is almost impossible to recover the money you’ve lost because you’ve technically given it to a stranger (remember, the definition of financial fraud encompasses the misrepresentation of identity). Thirdly, there is urgency to join the scheme and no clarity on how the scheme works. This is a classic characteristic of a “get-rich-quick” scheme. There is usually no clear answer about the nature of the scheme, what it invests in, how it generates its returns or the credentials of the organisation. Legitimate investments are transparent and can provide investors with all the information they need to help them decide whether to invest. Unsurprisingly, a proper check of “get-rich-quick” schemes will unmask their fraudulent nature. This is why there’s always the urgency and coercion to make an immediate financial commitment under the guise of missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get rich. Fourthly, the scheme is not registered with or regulated by any recognised authority. Regulatory authorities are important because they monitor the conduct of financial service providers and protect consumers by keeping their best interests in mind. The protection provided by financial regulators also instils confidence in financial systems. “Get-rich-quick” schemes are not registered and operate outside the framework of regulatory bodies. This makes investors more vulnerable to loss and makes it more difficult to seek legal recourse when the loss occurs. Legitimate investments in South Africa are offered by authorised financial service providers and regulated by the <a href="https://www.fsca.co.za/Pages/Default.aspx">Financial Sector Conduct Authority</a>. You can search for any authorised financial service provider on the authority’s <a href="https://www.fsca.co.za/Fais/Search_FSP.htm">website</a>. Fifthly, they use the testimonies from existing members who’ve earned big bucks to promote the scheme. At the initial stages, the scheme tends to pay out to those who have invested early, and these members are encouraged to share the news of their wealth (which travels fast and far) to promote the scheme. But this is a tactic used to create the impression that you too can earn returns in the double digits. These schemes are both unsustainable and unethical as one person gets wealthy through someone else being deceived. <h2>Too good to be true</h2> It’s worth repeating that if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Wealth comes from a sound investment strategy and decisions made over time. Any promise to “get rich quick” should be treated with the cynicism it deserves. It will ultimately reveal its fraudulent nature. Recognising the signs of “get-rich-quick” schemes can save you from unnecessary financial distress. It’s always a good idea to do your own investigation before committing your finances into any investment. You can find more information on the various types of scams through the <a href="https://www.sabric.co.za/">South African Banking Risk Information Centre</a>’s website and report them to the <a href="https://www.safps.org.za/Home/Contact">South African Fraud Prevention Service</a>.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205798/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bomikazi-zeka-680577">Bomikazi Zeka</a>, Assistant Professor in Finance and Financial Planning, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865">University of Canberra</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/abdul-latif-alhassan-1390159">Abdul Latif Alhassan</a>, Associate Professor in Development Finance & Insurance, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/get-rich-quick-schemes-pyramids-and-ponzis-five-signs-youre-being-scammed-205798">original article</a>.

Money & Banking

Social media good for older people’s health

Older people should use Facebook and other social media to help prevent their health declining, a study has found. Researchers at the University of Exeter in England carried out the research among 65 to 95-year-olds and found that people who spent time online did not feel as lonely as others their age, which helps stop declining physical and mental health. The study followed seniors from 31 residential care homes across the United Kingdom. Researchers noted those trained to use technology felt more self-competent, were more sociable and demonstrated improved cognitive abilities. The project's leader, Dr Thomas Morton, said the findings highlighted how loneliness among older people can contribute to their poor health. “Human beings are social animals, and it’s no surprise that we tend to do better when we have the capacity to connect with others. “But what can be surprising is just how important social connections are to cognitive and physical health. “People who are socially isolated or who experience loneliness are more vulnerable to disease and decline.” Margaret Keohone, a participant of the study, said learning to navigate the internet “changed her life”. “Having this training changes people's lives and opens up their worlds, invigorates their minds and for lots of us gives us a completely different way of recognising our worth as we age,” said Margaret Keohone. “I was just slipping away into a slower way of life.” Images: Getty

Technology

“Just heartbreaking”: Woman’s dream win turned nightmare

Amelia Conway has opened up about her heartbreak after her dream car was snatched away from her in the middle of the night. The 22-year-old from Victoria received the $100,000 4WD when she was named the winner of a Hello Lifestyle Australia online charity raffle. Amelia had purchased $120 worth of tickets in the draw, and was delighted when she was announced as the proud new owner of the modified Widebody Y62 Nissan Patrol. Supposedly, all associated on-road costs were also included in her prize. Amelia lives in Colac, Victoria, and had to be flown to Queensland by Hello Lifestyle Australia to claim her vehicle. Flights weren’t in order for the return trip, with the excited pair driving Amelia’s new car all the way back home to Victoria. However, Amelia’s good time was destined to come to an abrupt end. Upon trying to transfer the car into her name, and to register it in her home state as necessary, she discovered that the vehicle was still under finance. It had been one of Amelia’s friends who suggested that she look into the “too good to be true” win, and do a Personal Property Securities Register check. “I thought maybe they had paid it out,” Amelia said of learning the vehicle had money owing, “and it's taken a little while to clear, but that wasn't the case.” February 1 marked the beginning of Amelia’s nightmare, with someone showing up at her home to repossess the car. “Randomly, without me knowing anything, at 8pm last night a guy showed up to repossess the car,” Amelia said of the incident in a Facebook post. In the time to follow, Amelia attempted to get in touch with Hello Lifestyle Australia to find out more about what was going on with the vehicle’s transfer, and to get clarification on the payment of all on-road costs. But those attempts were met with silence for the unfortunate 22 year old. Victoria Police also confirmed that they are investigating Amelia’s case, but faced a difficult time ahead, with Hello Lifestyle Australia’s website and social media accounts having been shut down. “The patrol is gone and I am trying to gather information through other people that have won anything through Hello Lifestyle Australia to take it a lot further,” she said of her ordeal, adding, “it’s not fair on myself or anyone else that has won anything through this company. It’s just heartbreaking.” However, in a delightful twist to Amelia’s tale, Car Hub Australia took it upon themselves to get involved and to “right others’ wrong”. After searching the country high and low for a new Nissan Patrol - a vehicle in high demand with waiting lists measuring in months - before finally locating one on the New South Wales south coast. The team then made their way from Western Australia to Wollongong, before driving the car all the way to Amelia at home in Victoria. And all the company had to say of their good deed was that they “know there’s a lot of companies out there that don’t do the right thing. “We hold ourselves to a higher standard.” Despite the eventual happy ending to Amelia’s woes, it appears that she was not the first victim of Hello Lifestyle Australia’s “raffles”. Aaron Edmundson, a father from Perth, claims that he had to spend over $7,000 on a car that he also “won” from them. While the company apparently claimed that they would cover all related costs, this wasn’t the case, with Aaron eventually selling the car. Images: Seven News / Facebook

Legal

Salon owner loses $40,000 from one $60 deposit

When beautician Thuy Le received a call from a supposed customer’s ‘husband’ regarding an accidental payment, she could never have foreseen the devastating turn her life would take from that point on. The mother of two, whose husband is living with Parkinsons and unable to work, recounted how her harrowing ordeal started with that one phone call, and the man on the other end requesting she return the $60 his wife had ‘accidentally’ paid. Le checked her bank statements to verify his story, and after noting one deposit that matched, she transferred the funds into the account he provided. She did not provide any of her own personal information, her passwords, or any critical numbers for her accounts. And yet, in the time to follow, Le could only watch in horror as more withdrawals were made from her account, into the very same one owned by the customer’s ‘husband’. The withdrawals totalled a devastating $41,600 stolen from Le’s life savings. Le also recounted how she was refused access to her business account, and that she got in touch with her bank as soon as she realised what had happened, suspecting she had been scammed. Her quest for support in her time of need was cut short, with the financial institution placing the blame solely on Le and ruling that they were not liable for the losses she had endured - this was despite the suspicious withdrawals raising no alarm with the bank, and the lack of personal information involved in the scam. Of their questionable red flag system, the bank claimed that it is “nearly impossible for an unauthorised third party to guess”, referencing the way that the logins for the costly transaction all succeeded on the very first try. Furthermore, as stated in a letter to Le, they declared that “the only reasonable explanation for these logins would be that your online banking credentials were known to the unauthorised third party, which would be in breach of the passcode security requirements.” “I am in financial hardship,” Le admitted of her dire situation, and the need to have the funds returned for her family and her husband’s crucial medication. “I have two little kids, I have a husband with Parkinson’s disease, he cannot work,” she continued. “We are still in the process of applying for government help and I have carried the financial burden on my shoulders.” While Le’s bank offered $200 to resolve her complaint, she was offered no further assistance, and took matters to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, hoping to have her money returned to her. “I can’t sleep,” she confessed. “I want to know why this happened to me and how it happened to me. “I’m not a liar, not a criminal, not a fraud.” Images: Supplied to 7News, Facebook

Money & Banking

“Very questionable”: Kmart mocked after customer's "ridiculous" delivery

A woman has taken to Facebook to mock Kmart over her recent delivery. The shopper shared on Facebook she had ordered a 20mm combination padlock from Kmart and was caught by surprise when it was delivered to her home on February 13. The woman had received a large cardboard box, and when she opened it, it was filled to the brim with plastic wrap to protect the item. However, once she dug out the plastic, she saw a small padlock at the bottom of the unnecessarily large box. “My delivery arrived today,” the woman said on Facebook. Other Kmart fans were shocked by the large box for such a small item, with many users deeming it “ridiculous.” “Omg! Seriously,” a user commented. "Ridiculous honestly yet a pair of jeans get scrunched up into a bag for delivery," another added. "It's absolutely rubbish that they waste like that," a third chimed in. Another comment read, ”How ironic ... how easy is it to break this lock that it needs to be so protected when shipped? Would you need it if it is so fragile? Very questionable Kmart ... What a waste,” Many other users joined in on the teasing, claiming they also received small items delivered in unnecessarily large boxes. "This happened to us recently with a car air freshener," one shopper said. "Yeah they keep sending me one item in a stupidly big box. I’d be much more appreciative of multiple items jammed into a big box to stop wastage or happy to wait for all items to be ready together," another claimed. "I thought my three bowls packed like this was bad!" another commented. Back in May 2021, another Kmart shopper complained that she received a small book in a “huge box.” Although some said it was “terrible”, other users claimed the size of the box shouldn’t matter because it’s recyclable. A Kmart spokesperson told Yahoo Lifestyle that the complaints have been forwarded to Kmart’s online team, and they will reassess how they manage and replenish packaging materials. "Regrettably, in this instance, it appears the team member who has packed this order did not have available or use the most appropriately sized packaging components," the spokesperson said. "While our team are trained and aim to minimise packaging use and waste, it is likely that they did not have access to appropriately sized packaging options so used what was available in an effort to pack and dispatch this order as quickly as possible." Image credit: Facebook

Food & Wine

Detective steals thousands from elderly woman

An elderly woman who was scammed out of $30,000 in an online scam has once again been stolen from, after the police officer helping her recover the money stole her bank details. In May 2021, 74-year-old Sonia was robbed by fraudsters pretending to be NBN workers after they convinced her to transfer the hefty five-figure sum. After discovering it was a scam, Sonia then reported the crime to NSW Police, who sent a detective to her home to investigate. The officer was supposed to be helping Sonia recover her stolen money, but instead tried to use her credit card and banking details and purchase almost $20,000 worth of goods. The police officer fronted Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday where his barrister tried to explain his client's behaviour saying he had gone "off the rails" and fallen into a depression due to the nature of his work. In June 2021, the detective, who cannot be named, attended Sonia's home several times to investigate what happened, often wearing his full police uniform. To gain her sympathy, he said he had a brain aneurysm and had not yet told his girlfriend or work. According to police documents tendered to the court, Sonia trusted him and he told her she "reminded him of his own grandmother", the <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-nsw/detective-investigating-30k-fraud-on-74yo-woman-steals-her-credit-card-for-16k-shopping-spree/news-story/1823067b8a55dc184f1278ce6a933b69" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Daily Telegraph</a> reported. When he asked to see her online banking details, credit cards and passwords, Sonia gave them to him willingly, assuming they were needed for his investigation. The detective tried to buy close to $20,000 worth of items from JB Hi Fi, Big W and Myer, including iPhones, GoPro cameras and Apple Watches. Thankfully for Sonia, none of the attempted purchases went through, as they were all rejected by Sonia's bank as suspicious activity. When Sonia was notified of the attempted transactions, she immediately suspected the detective who had been supposed to be helping her. In court this week, the now former detective pleaded guilty to stealing Sonia's bank details, and will will face Downing Centre District Court in Sydney on May 12th when he will be sentenced. More than 18 months after the events, Sonia is still very troubled by what happened and blames herself. "I can't switch off a feeling that I was stupid in the first place ... I trusted this guy and then he did that," she said. Image credits: Getty Images

Legal

Top 7 common travel rip-offs

<div id="yiv7422957477yui_3_16_0_1_1449006757770_9618" class="yiv7422957477"> Sometimes, when you’re travelling overseas it’s easy to feel like one big walking dollar sign. Avoid getting ripped-off with this guide to the seven most common tourist traps when travelling abroad. 1. Sim cards It’s convenient to have a working phone when travelling overseas but the data and call costs can quickly add up. Rather than using your current phone plan, contact your provider and ask to have your plan suspended while you’re away. When you arrive at your destination, buy a local sim card and opt to manually top up your funds. It will allow you to make cheap local calls without the international roaming fees. Don’t forget to use wi-fi networks as well- many restaurants and hotels offer free wi-fi so you don’t have to pay for data. 2. Airport transfers Big international airports often have a number of transport services that connect terminals to the city centre. The cost of these transfers can vary wildly. For example, the London Heathrow Express costs four times that of a standard train ticket to reach the city. Before you leave home, do a quick search about your options and where possible, book in advance to reap savings. 3. Inaccurate currency conversion rates Some overseas card terminals will let you choose whether you’d like to be charged in local or Australian currency. While the latter might seem like the most obvious choice, it’s often linked to an added layer of fees. Similarly, some countries such as Turkey and Cambodia often accept foreign cash. It’s rarely worthwhile paying for goods with foreign dollars, as market stall holders and local vendors set the exchange rate, which is usually far off the market rate. 4. Hire car GPS Hiring a car can be one of the best ways to escape the tourist path and see a country like a local. Be aware of added extras though, such as a GPS. Rather than pay the $10-or-so dollar-a-day fee, download an offline map app. alternatively, if you’ve got a GPS at home and know that you’ll need one on your trip, pack it! You can buy international maps on your GPS and it means you’ll own it for life, not just the duration of your car hire. 5. Mandatory tips While some high-end cruises have a no-tip policy, most companies add an extra daily fee to your final bill, without even asking. Fees can range from $12-$18 per day, which adds up! Be sure to check what your travel provider’s tip policy is before making a booking. 6. Shopping tours Taking a locally-guided tour is a wonderful way to see a city through the eyes of a local, but be wary of tour recommendations. The classic “my uncle runs a one-of-a-kind rug store” might seem innocent enough, but remember that many tour operators receive commission to take you to vendors, who’ll charge a higher price once they know you’re a tourist. Rather, jump online to sites like TripAdvisor to read up on real consumer reviews and take special note of the names of tour operators who receive glowing reviews. When you book the tour, ask for them to be sure you’re getting the same expert-led tour. 7. Rent full, return empty It’s become mandatory at many car rental outlets for drivers to receive the car with a full tank of petrol and return it empty. While it might sound like a great deal, the reality is that car companies usually win out, as drivers over-fill the tank to avoid that nervous return drive when the red light is flashing. If you’re planning to hire a car, make sure you use the rent full, return empty policy to your advantage. Image credits: Getty Images </div>

Travel Tips

The Galactica AI model was trained on scientific knowledge – but it spat out alarmingly plausible nonsense

Earlier this month, Meta announced new AI software called <a href="https://galactica.org/">Galactica</a>: “a large language model that can store, combine and reason about scientific knowledge”. <a href="https://paperswithcode.com/paper/galactica-a-large-language-model-for-science-1">Launched</a> with a public online demo, Galactica lasted only three days before going the way of other AI snafus like Microsoft’s <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2016/3/24/11297050/tay-microsoft-chatbot-racist">infamous racist chatbot</a>. The online demo was disabled (though the <a href="https://github.com/paperswithcode/galai">code for the model is still available</a> for anyone to use), and Meta’s outspoken chief AI scientist <a href="https://twitter.com/ylecun/status/1595353002222682112">complained</a> about the negative public response. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Galactica demo is off line for now. It's no longer possible to have some fun by casually misusing it. Happy? <a href="https://t.co/K56r2LpvFD">https://t.co/K56r2LpvFD</a> — Yann LeCun (@ylecun) <a href="https://twitter.com/ylecun/status/1593293058174500865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2022</a></blockquote> So what was Galactica all about, and what went wrong? What’s special about Galactica? Galactica is a language model, a type of AI trained to respond to natural language by repeatedly playing a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/magazine/ai-language.html">fill-the-blank word-guessing game</a>. Most modern language models learn from text scraped from the internet. Galactica also used text from scientific papers uploaded to the (Meta-affiliated) website <a href="https://paperswithcode.com/">PapersWithCode</a>. The designers highlighted specialised scientific information like citations, maths, code, chemical structures, and the working-out steps for solving scientific problems. The <a href="https://galactica.org/static/paper.pdf">preprint paper</a> associated with the project (which is yet to undergo peer review) makes some impressive claims. Galactica apparently outperforms other models at problems like reciting famous equations (“Q: What is Albert Einstein’s famous mass-energy equivalence formula? A: E=mc²”), or predicting the products of chemical reactions (“Q: When sulfuric acid reacts with sodium chloride, what does it produce? A: NaHSO₄ + HCl”). However, once Galactica was opened up for public experimentation, a deluge of criticism followed. Not only did Galactica reproduce many of the problems of bias and toxicity we have seen in other language models, it also specialised in producing authoritative-sounding scientific nonsense. Authoritative, but subtly wrong bullshit generator Galactica’s press release promoted its ability to explain technical scientific papers using general language. However, users quickly noticed that, while the explanations it generates sound authoritative, they are often subtly incorrect, biased, or just plain wrong. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> I entered "Estimating realistic 3D human avatars in clothing from a single image or video". In this case, it made up a fictitious paper and associated GitHub repo. The author is a real person (<a href="https://twitter.com/AlbertPumarola?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AlbertPumarola</a>) but the reference is bogus. (2/9) <a href="https://t.co/N4i0BX27Yf">pic.twitter.com/N4i0BX27Yf</a> — Michael Black (@Michael_J_Black) <a href="https://twitter.com/Michael_J_Black/status/1593133727257092097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2022</a></blockquote> We also asked Galactica to explain technical concepts from our own fields of research. We found it would use all the right buzzwords, but get the actual details wrong – for example, mixing up the details of related but different algorithms. In practice, Galactica was enabling the generation of misinformation – and this is dangerous precisely because it deploys the tone and structure of authoritative scientific information. If a user already needs to be a subject matter expert in order to check the accuracy of Galactica’s “summaries”, then it has no use as an explanatory tool. At best, it could provide a fancy autocomplete for people who are already fully competent in the area they’re writing about. At worst, it risks further eroding public trust in scientific research. A galaxy of deep (science) fakes Galactica could make it easier for bad actors to mass-produce fake, fraudulent or plagiarised scientific papers. This is to say nothing of exacerbating <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/28/ai-students-essays-cheat-teachers-plagiarism-tech">existing concerns</a> about students using AI systems for plagiarism. Fake scientific papers are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00733-5">nothing new</a>. However, peer reviewers at academic journals and conferences are already time-poor, and this could make it harder than ever to weed out fake science. Underlying bias and toxicity Other critics reported that Galactica, like other language models trained on data from the internet, has a tendency to spit out <a href="https://twitter.com/mrgreene1977/status/1593649978789941249">toxic hate speech</a> while unreflectively censoring politically inflected queries. This reflects the biases lurking in the model’s training data, and Meta’s apparent failure to apply appropriate checks around the responsible AI research. The risks associated with large language models are well understood. Indeed, an <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3442188.3445922">influential paper</a> highlighting these risks prompted Google to <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/google-timnit-gebru-ai-what-really-happened/">fire one of the paper’s authors</a> in 2020, and eventually disband its AI ethics team altogether. Machine-learning systems infamously exacerbate existing societal biases, and Galactica is no exception. For instance, Galactica can recommend possible citations for scientific concepts by mimicking existing citation patterns (“Q: Is there any research on the effect of climate change on the great barrier reef? A: Try the paper ‘<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0041-2">Global warming transforms coral reef assemblages</a>’ by Hughes, et al. in Nature 556 (2018)”). For better or worse, citations are the currency of science – and by reproducing existing citation trends in its recommendations, Galactica risks reinforcing existing patterns of inequality and disadvantage. (Galactica’s developers acknowledge this risk in their paper.) Citation bias is already a well-known issue in academic fields ranging from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2018.1447395">feminist</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqy003">scholarship</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01770-1">physics</a>. However, tools like Galactica could make the problem worse unless they are used with careful guardrails in place. A more subtle problem is that the scientific articles on which Galactica is trained are already biased towards certainty and positive results. (This leads to the so-called “<a href="https://theconversation.com/science-is-in-a-reproducibility-crisis-how-do-we-resolve-it-16998">replication crisis</a>” and “<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-edit-science-part-2-significance-testing-p-hacking-and-peer-review-74547">p-hacking</a>”, where scientists cherry-pick data and analysis techniques to make results appear significant.) Galactica takes this bias towards certainty, combines it with wrong answers and delivers responses with supreme overconfidence: hardly a recipe for trustworthiness in a scientific information service. These problems are dramatically heightened when Galactica tries to deal with contentious or harmful social issues, as the screenshot below shows. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498098/original/file-20221129-17547-nwq8p.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498098/original/file-20221129-17547-nwq8p.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498098/original/file-20221129-17547-nwq8p.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498098/original/file-20221129-17547-nwq8p.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498098/original/file-20221129-17547-nwq8p.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498098/original/file-20221129-17547-nwq8p.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498098/original/file-20221129-17547-nwq8p.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498098/original/file-20221129-17547-nwq8p.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Screenshots of papers generated by Galactica on 'The benefits of antisemitism' and 'The benefits of eating crushed glass'." /></a><figcaption>Galactica readily generates toxic and nonsensical content dressed up in the measured and authoritative language of science. <a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/mrgreene1977/status/1593687024963182592/photo/1">Tristan Greene / Galactica</a></figcaption></figure> Here we go again Calls for AI research organisations to take the ethical dimensions of their work more seriously are now coming from <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26507/fostering-responsible-computing-research-foundations-and-practices">key research bodies</a> such as the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. Some AI research organisations, like OpenAI, are being <a href="https://github.com/openai/dalle-2-preview/blob/main/system-card.md">more conscientious</a> (though still imperfect). Meta <a href="https://www.engadget.com/meta-responsible-innovation-team-disbanded-194852979.html">dissolved its Responsible Innovation team</a> earlier this year. The team was tasked with addressing “potential harms to society” caused by the company’s products. They might have helped the company avoid this clumsy misstep.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195445/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Writen by Aaron J. Snoswell and Jean Burgess. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-galactica-ai-model-was-trained-on-scientific-knowledge-but-it-spat-out-alarmingly-plausible-nonsense-195445" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Getty Images

Technology

Crypto scams will increase over the holidays – here’s what you need to know to not fall victim

Each year, as the festive season arrives, we must also keep an eye out for potential scammers trying to ruin the fun. This is because scammers become more active <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/scam-statistics?scamid=all&date=2021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">during the holidays</a>, targeting us while we have our guard down. So far in 2022, Australians have lost around <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/scam-statistics?scamid=all&date=2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">half a billion dollars to scams</a>, which is already significantly more than had been lost by this time last year. The majority of these losses – <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/scam-statistics?scamid=26&date=2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">around $300 million</a> – have involved investment or cryptocurrency scams. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494108/original/file-20221108-14-vbvqlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494108/original/file-20221108-14-vbvqlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494108/original/file-20221108-14-vbvqlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494108/original/file-20221108-14-vbvqlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494108/original/file-20221108-14-vbvqlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494108/original/file-20221108-14-vbvqlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494108/original/file-20221108-14-vbvqlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494108/original/file-20221108-14-vbvqlj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A chart showing a steady rise of crypto scams, with a spike in April 2022" /></a><figcaption>Investment scams 2019-2022. scamwatch.gov.au</figcaption></figure> Researchers from <a href="https://cybercentre.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deakin University’s Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation</a> had a opportunity to interview recent victims of these scams. Here is what we found. Anyone can fall for a scam <blockquote> I was shocked and could not accept that this happened to me although I was very careful […] I was numb for a couple of minutes as it was a large amount of money. – (26-year-old female office manager from South Australia) </blockquote> These scams have become highly sophisticated and criminals have become less discriminating about whom they target. This is reflected in recent victim demographics, showing a wide variety of backgrounds, a more even distribution across several age groups, and an almost even split on gender. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494408/original/file-20221109-21-4mauh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494408/original/file-20221109-21-4mauh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494408/original/file-20221109-21-4mauh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494408/original/file-20221109-21-4mauh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494408/original/file-20221109-21-4mauh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494408/original/file-20221109-21-4mauh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494408/original/file-20221109-21-4mauh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494408/original/file-20221109-21-4mauh4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A bar chart showing most age groups are almost equally targeted" /></a><figcaption>Age groups of scam victims. scamwatch.gov.au</figcaption></figure> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494409/original/file-20221109-24-24ku3v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494409/original/file-20221109-24-24ku3v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494409/original/file-20221109-24-24ku3v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494409/original/file-20221109-24-24ku3v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494409/original/file-20221109-24-24ku3v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494409/original/file-20221109-24-24ku3v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/494409/original/file-20221109-24-24ku3v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A radial chart showing female scam victims comprise 49%, male 48% and gender X the rest" /><figcaption>Gender distribution for reported scams. scamwatch.gov.au</figcaption></figure> So, how can you spot these scams and where can you get help if you have fallen victim? If it sounds too good to be true, it might just be a scam <blockquote> I was dumbfounded, to say that ground shattered under my feet would be an understatement, it will take me a very long time to recover from it, financially and mentally. – (36-year-old female, legal practitioner from Victoria) </blockquote> Most crypto scams involve getting the victim to buy and send cryptocurrency to the perpetrator’s account for what appears to be a legitimate investment opportunity. Cryptocurrency is the currency of choice for this type of crime, because it’s unregulated, untraceable and transactions cannot be reversed. Victims of such scams are targeted using a number of different methods, which include: Investment scams: scammers pretend to be investment managers claiming high returns on crypto investments. They get the victim to transfer over funds and escape with them. “Pump and dump”: scammers usually hype up a new cryptocurrency or an <a href="https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/how-to-avoid-nft-scams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NFT project</a> and artificially increase its value. Once enough victims invest, the scammers sell their stake, leaving the victims with worthless cryptocurrency or NFT. Romance scams: involves scammers using dating platforms, social media or direct messaging to engage with you, gain your trust and pitch an amazing investment opportunity promising high returns, or ask for cryptocurrency to cover medical or travel expenses. Phishing scams: an old but still effective scam involving malicious emails or messages with links to fake websites promising huge returns on investment or just outright stealing credentials to access users’ digital currency wallets. Ponzi schemes: a type of investment scam where the scammers use cryptocurrency gathered from multiple victims to repay high interest to some of them; when victims invest more funds, the scammers escape with all the investments. Mining scams: scammers try and convince victims to buy cryptocurrency to use in mining more of it, while in reality there is no mining happening – the scammers just make transfers that look like returns on the investment. Over time, the victim invests more, and the scammers keep taking it all. Although methods evolve and change, the telltale signs of a potential scam remain relatively similar: <ul> <li>very high returns with promises of little or no risk</li> <li>proprietary or secretive strategies to gain an advantage</li> <li>lack of liquidity, requiring a minimum accumulation amount before funds are released.</li> </ul> Where to seek help if you’ve been scammed <blockquote> I felt helpless, I didn’t know what to do, who to reach out to, I was too embarrassed and just kept blaming myself. – (72-year-old male, accountant from Victoria) </blockquote> If you think you have fallen victim to one of these scams, here is what you need to do next: <ul> <li> inform the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> or reach out to relevant authorities <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/get-help/where-to-get-help" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as per advice on the ScamWatch website</a> </li> <li> reach out to your friends and family members and inform them of the scam; they can also be a source of help and support during such times </li> <li> as these events can have a psychological impact, it’s recommended you talk to your GP, a health professional, or someone you trust </li> <li> you can also reach out to counselling services such as <a href="http://www.lifeline.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LifeLine</a>, <a href="https://www.beyondblue.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">beyond blue</a>, <a href="http://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sucide Call Back Service</a>, <a href="http://www.mensline.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mens Line</a>, and <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/get-help/where-to-get-help" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more</a> for help and support. </li> </ul> If you ever find yourself in a difficult situation, please remember help and support is available. Finally, to prevent yourself becoming the next statistic over the holiday period, keep in mind the following advice:<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194064/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <ul> <li>don’t share your personal details with people online or over a call</li> <li>don’t invest in something you don’t understand</li> <li>if in doubt, talk to an expert or search online for resources yourself (don’t believe any links the scammers send you).</li> </ul> Writen by Ashish Nanda, Jeb Webb, Jongkil Jay Jeong, Mohammed Reza Nosouhi, and Syed Wajid Ali Shah. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/crypto-scams-will-increase-over-the-holidays-heres-what-you-need-to-know-to-not-fall-victim-194064" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. <p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; background-color: #ffffff;">Image: Getty Images

Money & Banking

How to block app invites on Facebook

Got that one annoying Facebook friend who keeps inviting you to play Candy Crush? And no matter how many times you tell them you want nothing to do with their quest for candy, the invites keeps coming in? Here’s what you can do to put a stop to it (and keep the friendship intact): Blocking an app or game When you block an app or game, it won't be able to access any of your Facebook information or send you any requests. If you no longer want an app or game to contact you, please remove it. <ol> <li>Click the downward arrow icon on the top right of your Facebook page. Select Settings.</li> <li>Click Blocking, located in the left column.</li> <li>In the Block apps section, type the name of the app or game you want to block.</li> </ol> If you ever want to unblock the app or game, click “Unblock” next to the app name. Blocking a specific friend’s invitations If you have a Facebook friend that invites you to so many different games and apps that you’ve often wondered if they spend their entire life on Facebook, you have the option to block all invites from a particular Facebook friend. This automatically ignores all future invites from all games and apps sent by the person. <ol> <li>Click the downward arrow icon on the top right of your Facebook page. Select Settings.</li> <li>Click Blocking, located in the left column.</li> <li>In the Block app invites section, type the name of the friend you want to block invites from.</li> </ol> Image: Shutterstock

Technology

Woman lists engagement ring for sale

A woman has caused quite the stir when she listed her engagement ring for sale. The gorgeous Tiffany engagement ring was listed on a private buy-sell Facebook group after the seller decided it was time to part ways with it. “Selling this for obvious reasons. I do now I don't," the seller wrote on the listing. "Compared to current Tiffany pricing of a 1.0 Carat ring at $23,600, I am letting go of this beauty at $18,500. Condition is close to brand new - never worn much." Her listing however raised questions on who the engagement ring belongs to if a relationship ends. "Legally you can't sell this and have to give it back if you didn't proceed with the marriage," one woman commented. "If he paid for it, it's his, and he should get all the $$$," another user agreed. Someone defended the seller saying it was unnecessary for people to comment about the woman’s circumstances. "OMG, why do [people] feel the need to comment on this? You don't know the circumstances. If you don't want to buy it, why bother adding your two cents?" Images: Facebook

Relationships

Right royal nonsense: online scam roasted for being most pathetic ever

It hasn’t taken long for scammers to swoop in and take advantage of the Queen’s death, only two short weeks after her funeral was watched by literally billions of people. Pretty audacious then for this particular scammer to think that pretending the Queen is actually still alive would fool anyone for even a moment. Twitter account UberFacts shared a screenshot of just such an attempt that has been circulating on Instagram. An account pretending to be the Queen herself is behind these ludicrous messages, with the handle @queenelizabet._3 ... and the messages claim the Queen isn't dead, that she's simply been shipped off to a desert island by King Charles so that he could ascend to the throne. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> I have some news <a href="https://t.co/f1QbInTJNl">pic.twitter.com/f1QbInTJNl</a> — UberFacts (@UberFacts) <a href="https://twitter.com/UberFacts/status/1572279949201117186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2022</a></blockquote> According to the message, "the Queen" "can't get hold of her royal money" - and needs people to send her some cash so she can return to the UK. The absurd message concludes with "Tea and biscuits" and a Union Jack flag emoji. As expected, the scam was thoroughly mocked online for its outrageous attempt at conning people out of money. Scammers come up with new ways to target social media users every day, but there are a few ways to help protect yourself and your information including: treating contact from unfamiliar accounts with caution - particularly if it claims to be an official account. Even if it is familiar, legitimate users often get hacked, so it still pays to watch out. Don't click on suspicious links or attachments - these are often the most dangerous parts of a scam message. As always, if you're unsure, better to be safe than sorry and avoid the links and messages altogether. Image: Twitter

Money & Banking

Instagram and Facebook are stalking you on websites accessed through their apps. What can you do about it?

Social media platforms have had some bad <a href="https://theconversation.com/concerns-over-tiktok-feeding-user-data-to-beijing-are-back-and-theres-good-evidence-to-support-them-186211" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press</a> in recent times, largely prompted by the vast extent of their data collection. Now Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has upped the ante. Not content with following every move you make on its apps, Meta has reportedly devised a way to also know everything you do in external websites accessed through its apps. Why is it going to such lengths? And is there a way to avoid this surveillance? ‘Injecting’ code to follow you Meta has a custom in-app browser that operates on Facebook, Instagram and any website you might click through to from both these apps. Now ex-Google engineer and privacy researcher Felix Krause has discovered this proprietary browser has additional program code inserted into it. Krause developed a tool that <a href="https://krausefx.com/blog/ios-privacy-instagram-and-facebook-can-track-anything-you-do-on-any-website-in-their-in-app-browser?utm_source=tldrnewsletter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> Instagram and Facebook added up to 18 lines of code to websites visited through Meta’s in-app browsers. This “code injection” enables user tracking and overrides tracking restrictions that browsers such as Chrome and Safari have in place. It allows Meta to collect sensitive user information, including “every button and link tapped, text selections, screenshots, as well as any form inputs, like passwords, addresses and credit card numbers”. Krause published his <a href="https://krausefx.com/blog/ios-privacy-instagram-and-facebook-can-track-anything-you-do-on-any-website-in-their-in-app-browser?utm_source=tldrnewsletter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">findings</a> online on August 10, including samples of the <a href="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/pcm.js" target="_blank" rel="noopener">actual code</a>. In response, Meta has said it isn’t doing anything users didn’t consent to. A Meta spokesperson said: <blockquote> We intentionally developed this code to honour people’s [Ask to track] choices on our platforms […] The code allows us to aggregate user data before using it for targeted advertising or measurement purposes. </blockquote> The “code” mentioned in the case is <a href="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/pcm.js" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pcm.js</a> – a script that acts to aggregate a user’s browsing activities. Meta says the script is inserted based on whether users have given consent – and information gained is used only for advertising purposes. So is it acting ethically? Well, the company has done due diligence by informing users of its intention to collect <a href="https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an expanded range</a> of data. However, it stopped short of making clear what the full implications of doing so would be. People might give their consent to tracking in a more general sense, but “informed” consent implies full knowledge of the possible consequences. And, in this case, users were not explicitly made aware their activities on other sites could be followed through a code injection. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Facebook reached out to me, saying the system they’ve built honours the user’s ATT choice. However, this doesn’t change anything about my publication: The Instagram iOS app is actively injecting JavaScript code into all third party websites rendered via their in-app browser. <a href="https://t.co/9h0PIoIOSS">pic.twitter.com/9h0PIoIOSS</a> — Felix Krause (@KrauseFx) <a href="https://twitter.com/KrauseFx/status/1557777320546635776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2022</a></blockquote> Why is Meta doing this? Data are the central commodity of Meta’s business model. There is astronomical value in the amount of data Meta can collect by injecting a tracking code into third-party websites opened through the Instagram and Facebook apps. At the same time, Meta’s business model is being threatened – and events from the recent past can help shed light on why it’s doing this in the first place. It boils down to the fact that Apple (which owns the Safari browser), Google (which owns Chrome) and the Firefox browser are all actively placing restrictions on Meta’s ability to collect data. Last year, Apple’s iOS 14.5 update came alongside a <a href="https://www.apple.com/au/privacy/control/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requirement</a> that all apps hosted on the Apple app store must get users’ explicit permission to track and collect their data across apps owned by other companies. Meta has <a href="https://krausefx.com/blog/ios-privacy-instagram-and-facebook-can-track-anything-you-do-on-any-website-in-their-in-app-browser?utm_source=tldrnewsletter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly</a> said this single iPhone alert is costing its Facebook business US$10 billion each year. Apple’s Safari browser also applies a default setting to block all third-party “cookies”. These are little chunks of <a href="https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/definition/cookies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tracking code</a> that websites deposit on your computer and which tell the website’s owner about your visit to the site. Google will also soon be phasing out third-party cookies. And Firefox recently announced “total cookie protection” to prevent so-called cross-page tracking. In other words, Meta is being flanked by browsers introducing restrictions on extensive user data tracking. Its response was to create its own browser that circumvents these restrictions. How can I protect myself? On the bright side, users concerned about privacy do have some options. The easiest way to stop Meta tracking your external activities through its in-app browser is to simply not use it; make sure you’re opening web pages in a trusted browser of choice such as Safari, Chrome or Firefox (via the screen shown below). <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478879/original/file-20220812-20-6je7m8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /> Click ‘open in browser’ to open a website in a trusted browser such as Safari. screenshot <figure class="align-right "><figcaption></figcaption></figure> If you can’t find this screen option, you can manually copy and paste the web address into a trusted browser. Another option is to access the social media platforms via a browser. So instead of using the Instagram or Facebook app, visit the sites by entering their URL into your trusted browser’s search bar. This should also solve the tracking problem. I’m not suggesting you ditch Facebook or Instagram altogether. But we should all be aware of how our online movements and usage patterns may be carefully recorded and used in ways we’re not told about. Remember: on the internet, if the service is free, you’re probably the product. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188645/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-tuffley-13731" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Tuffley</a>, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/griffith-university-828" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Griffith University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/instagram-and-facebook-are-stalking-you-on-websites-accessed-through-their-apps-what-can-you-do-about-it-188645" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Technology

Dream home turns into nightmare for scam victims

A Queensland couple who thought they had snapped up the home of their dreams have been left devastated after they lost almost $40,000 to a “cunning” email scammer instead. When Mitch Wilson and Penny Davies received an email from what appeared to be their real estate agent’s email address, they believed they were following their agent’s advice to then transfer the deposit for their house into a bank account. “It plays over and over in my head all of the time,” Ms Davies said. “We got an email from the real estate agent we had been dealing with, from their email account, saying in light of the contract please pay money to this account,” Mr Wilson told 9News. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/08/receipts.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The couple lost nearly $40,000 after receiving the fraudulent email (left), realising their costly mistake while messaging the actual real estate agent (right). Images: 9News After transferring the $39,000 sum, they thought nothing of it until the agent contacted them several days later asking where the funds were. “We went back and forth, we exchanged screenshots and emails from their side and ours, and what was obvious is the money didn’t go where it was supposed to go which was their account,” Mr Wilson said. “(It) ended up in some fraudster‘s account and then offshore to a crypto account.” But, the couple aren’t the only victims of this kind of scam, which police refer to as an email compromise scam. The scammers infiltrate an email account and use it to send emails to victims - making it difficult to identify that they are being scammed. Constance Hall, a mummy blogger, told news.com.au she felt “stupid” after losing thousands of dollars to the scam after she transferred money via a link sent from the real estate agency that managed the rental property she believed she was paying a deposit for. When she contacted the bank, she was told that the chance of recovering the funds was minimal as she had authorised the transaction, and that she should report it to the police. In the end, only $7.57 was recovered. “To have it all stolen in an instant … felt unbelievably unfair,” she said. Ian Wells, of Queensland Police’s Cyber Crime Group, told 9News: “These people with these skills, they‘re very cunning, they’re very calculated.” Police are advising home buyers to contact the business before paying invoices online to confirm bank account numbers, as the hackers change the bank accounts in invoices sent by business owners before forwarding the altered invoices to unsuspecting customers. Victims are also urged to contact their bank as soon as possible to report the fraudulent transaction. As for businesses impacted by the scams, the Australian Cyber Security Centre advises that they report the incident at <a href="https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/report</a>, alert other employees and clients, and report the breach to their email service provider. Image: 9News

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