Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Queensland warned to remain cyber vigilant
A spate of Christmas holiday scams using fake social media messages and emails has prompted police to urge Queenslanders to remain vigilant.
December 27, 2018
Queenslanders are being warned to remain vigilant after a spate of Christmas holiday scams using fake social media messages and emails.
Facebook messages appearing to be from victims’ friends outlining how they can win competitions or secure government grants are the latest version of “upfront fee” fraud, Queensland police say.
“The message is really from a scammer who has either hacked your friend’s account or created a copy profile by stealing their images and information,” a police spokesman said on Thursday.
“Because the message is from someone you know the scammers hope you’ll trust what they’re telling you.”
The scammers ask victims to pay an upfront fee for tax or processing to obtain their winnings or grants.
Police urged people to deleted the message immediately.
Cybercrime detectives have also identified an increasing number of random emails containing terrifying threats designed to frighten people into handing over their money.
The extortion emails demand payment to bitcoin accounts.
The emails have been linked to similar campaigns around the world using sextortion, bomb hoaxes, fake hitman emails and more recently, acid attack threats.
People should not be spooked by the threats or respond to the emails, police say.