scams

Scams cost 378,000 Australians an average of $6000 last year, not to mention the emotional distress of being ripped off. The scamming industry is big business in Australia and, not surprisingly, it has attracted organised crime, which is throwing plenty ... More

If, like me, you Google a number you don't recognise instead of actually answering the phone, then you'd really hate receiving telemarketing calls. Research by Choice last year found that 89% of people received at least one unsolicited call in a six-month ... More

Well, here we go again. At a rough guess this must be getting close to a 1000 articles or TV or radio stories I have written about scams over the past 35 years. Part of me does wonder if I am wasting my time but I am a genuine optimist. While I would ... More

I would love to know the hit rate for the stream of scams we all get by email. Pretty obviously someone must be responding or they would not keep coming in ever-increasing numbers. Presumably the success of the scam is in direct proportion to the effort ... More

Watch out if you're buying tickets for a concert or sporting event because you could be ripped off if you deal with a reseller. "Tickets purchased in Australia from resale sites such as Viagogo, Ticketmaster Resale and StubHub were sold higher than ... More

What do you think our most popular password is for all those accounts we have online? I guessed incorrectly. I thought we might be marginally original and use our dog's or cat's name, or our birth date. These are about as secure a wet paper bag. But ... More

Is the humble shipping container a seaworthy investment or could it go the way of the Titanic? Websites touting "buy a shipping container" have generated considerable interest among investors despite a number of authorities, including Canada's financial ... More

No matter how thoroughly you screen your calls, there's always one cold-calling salesperson who slips through the cracks. Fortunately, some cold calls really are genuine companies just trying to get in touch. But sometimes the person on the other end ... More

Being in a hurry at tax time can saddle some people with an unexpected debt. We're just a few days away from the end of the financial year and, like most people, you're probably keen to get your tax refund as quickly as possible. You might see ads offering ... More

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is warning Australians to be on the lookout for scammers at tax time, and not to hand over their personal details or hard-earned cash. More than 48,000 scams were reported to the ATO between July and October 2016 ... More