Australia easy target for credit cards scams

21 October 2009

Australia remains vulnerable to identity theft and credit cards scams with the recent National Identity Crime Symposium on the Gold Coast detailing the risks that Australians run every day with their banking and credit cards activities.

Experts at the National Identity Crime Symposium stated that around $3 billion in identity fraud costs are racked up every year in Australia.

According to a speaker at the conference, Romanian police chief Elvis Tudose, it is Romanian crime gangs that are targeting Australian ATMs and bank customers, especially for card skimming fraud, citing Australian banks high withdrawal limits, relaxed penalties and old technology machines.

Chief Inspector Tudose stated at the conference that Australian has "bigger withdrawal limits at ATMs so, when they skim your cards, they can take more money.''

"They see Australia as an easy target because they think there are smaller punishments,'' he said

The Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) has rebuked these claims saying that the Romanian police should assist the Australian Federal Police in apprehending these criminals before they can implement theirs scams on Australians.

Over recent months there have been arrests in Sydney made on Romanian gang members who have been charged with scamming fraud crimes and similar charges.

ABA chief executive David Bell explains that Australia is nowhere near the worst in the world.

"In 2008, the debit card, credit card and charge card fraud rate in the UK was $1.12 per $1000 and in Australia it was 32c per $1000.''

A recent report from the Australian Institute of Criminology concluded that almost 90 per cent of Australians have been targeted by internet scams, with 18 per cent of these falling victim. Apparently, cybercrime is responsible for a loss of around $1 billion every year.

The report asked 919 respondents and found that 5 per cent had been duped by quite well known scams such as fake bank emails and money transfers while around 10 per cent reported receiving and falling for newer scams that people are not aware of.

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