Online scammers are using devious and creative methods to steal relief funding West Australian flood victims in desperate need.
Key points:
- Residents in the central Kimberley have lost their homes and belongings in a one-in-100-year flooding event
- Scammers pretending to be relief associations have reached out to the victims
- Consumer Protection WA says scammers can always be expected to turn up in times of crisis
As river levels reached record highs in the Kimberley this month, affected residents were left feeling anxious, afraid and isolated, and the broader community flocked to social media to show its support.
But in comments sections and inboxes predators eager to capitalise on this historic disaster were lurking.
Online scammers posing as representatives from fictitious relief associations have spammed comment sections of informative posts that offer general assistance to flood victims.
Using stolen names and images, scammers create profiles on popular social media pages to appear genuine in the online discourse.
While some scammers attempt to collect donations from donors, others aim to gain access to the bank accounts of the victims themselves, such as those claiming to be from the Australian Flooding Agency, which does not exist.
The latter contacts victims directly or leaves comments offering help and asking victims to contact them.
The scammers will then offer relief funds and ask the victim to…
