Fair Trading Minister, Virginia Judge, today warned residents about scammers offering bogus refunds for excess bank fees.

Ms Judge said a Queensland resident was recently contacted by scammers claiming to offer refunds on overcharged National Australia Bank fees. The scammers told the resident she would need to pay an upfront fee of $190, payable via Western Union.

Moments later the resident received a second call from a person claiming to be from NSW Fair Trading, which advised the resident to accept the offer.

“The scammers are using a sneaky tactic of making follow up calls to their intended victims claiming to be from a government agency,” she said.

“NSW Fair Trading would never place calls to people recommending they make payments to any business or organisation.

“People should be extremely wary about anyone offering cash, refunds or other forms of financial benefit.

“If an offer seems too good to be true it usually is.”

Ms Judge said the best way to avoid being exploited by scammers was to verify any claims or offers with recognised financial institutions or businesses that are mentioned.

“You should contact the organisation directly by telephone or through official websites and look for information there,” she said.

“Don’t use phone numbers given to you by the person making the offer and don’t click on web links in emails because they can take you to elaborate hoax sites that might look legitimate.

“Further, if you receive a call from NSW Fair Trading, you can check its authenticity by contacting 13 32 20.”

Ms Judge encouraged consumers to use the Australian Competition and Consumers Commission’s ‘SCAMwatch’ website (www.scamwatch.gov.au) for the latest information on scams.

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