The Qantas Scam:

Many of you will have heard of Qantas, one of Australia’s leading Airlines and an internationally recognised brand. It’s that reputation that makes one particular scam very profitable for overseas fraudsters… and unfortunately, these guys have been pretty successful so far.

So, what’s involved in the scam?

While Qantas is one of the main companies that these imposters are posing as, there are others too; airlines, such as Virgin Australia, and world-renowned hotel chains, including the Marriott have been used as a front to gain the trust of their victims.

Unsuspecting Australians are receiving calls from an automated service, describing that the recipient of the call has won a significant prize, be it cash, air miles or vouchers for a short stay at one of many five star hotels across the globe. After the recording plays, the victims are asked to hit “1” on their keypads to confirm that they wish to receive the prize, following which they are put through to an actual person.

After confirming the details for the prize and answering any questions that their victims-to-be may have, the callers go on to request a few bits of key information, such as your name, your address, your date of birth, your email address and, of course, your credit card details. It should be noted at this point, that before the fraudsters ask for your credit card details, they’ll usually request which bank account you wish the prize money to be transferred to, or the physical address that you’d like the vouchers or air miles certificate to be sent to. The monetary prizes seem to be the most effective as the caller simply explains that the funds will be transferred directly onto the card that the victim provides. In cases where vouchers or air miles are “awarded”, the caller will ask that small deposit (of $1-$10) be made to verify the authenticity of the card and the person’s intent to collect the prize.

However, 32 people have reported the scam over the last few days, from all over the country, claiming that instead of sending any money, vouchers or air miles, hundreds of dollars are siphoned from their bank accounts.

Qantas and a number of other associated parties have posted warnings on their websites, advising people to steer clear of any automated calls claiming that you’ve won prizes from the company(ies) in question. Furthermore, a company spokesperson made it clear that Qantas would never contact customers through an automated service, let alone ask for any bank details before confirming any booking arrangements.

As such, Precise Investigation would like to put a warning out to all of our followers so that we can lessen the damage caused by the scam and protect the ones we can. If you would be so kind as to share this post with any friends and family, you’d be helping to spread the message and reduce the chances of the scam being successful.

Precise Investigation has been at the forefront of the private investigation industry in Australia for three decades. With that experience, our field operatives and dedicated support team are more than equipped to offer expert advice, guidance and physical support to those in need. So if you feel that you, or someone you know, may be in danger of being scammed, please get in touch with us as soon as possible, and we’ll work with you to protect yourself, recover any losses where possible and prevent scams from being effective in the future.

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Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Brisbane and even the more remote areas of Australia are all susceptible to fraud and scams. Luckily, our operatives are available to meet your needs wherever you’re based.

Get in touch with us today and see what a professional private investigator, or team thereof, can do for you.

Image credit: Thank you Wikipedia: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/