Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on this very important private members motion on scams and different ways of siphoning money from people using our telcos, our internet, our social media et cetera. Recently I had a scam forum in my electorate, where we were joined by about 80 people. I asked everyone in that room who had been scammed. Nearly a quarter of the room put their hand up. I was quite surprised by that. These were people who were quite intelligent, people who had professions, people who were pensioners—there was a whole cross-section. One of the things to remember is that, if something comes up on your phone asking you to press a button or to send or to okay, always take a moment to think about what it is. If you're unsure or you have a bad feeling about it, don't do it. Speak to someone; show it to someone et cetera.

Recently I received a phone call from a supposed associate of mine whom I've known and met at different conferences overseas over the years. He's a member of parliament in Argentina. I received a call saying that he was coming to Adelaide on an emergency to see his sister who had tragically been killed in an accident in Adelaide. I asked the question: why is he ringing me? They were supposedly stuck in the Philippines in transit to Adelaide and wouldn't let him go without paying for a visa in the Philippines for a thousand euros. It was very convincing because this person had the association and the conference that we had attended together. This person also had names of people who were at the conference with us. In the end, I wouldn't agree to it, and they said they would get him to ring me. They did get this particular person to ring me. It wasn't the politician that I knew in Argentina. I couldn't remember his voice, because we'd only met on a number of occasions in the last 10 years and he had a very heavy Spanish accent. At that point, we decided to make an inquiry—and I was willing to help because I knew this person—to his office in Buenos Aires, and we were told, 'No, he is here in his office.' That is the extent that they go to. How did this person connect all of this? He had gone on to the website of this conference that takes place every two years in Athens and had seen photographs of me and him and other people who had been attending the conference on a regular basis, connected it all and just tried to devise this scam. That's how elaborate they there. So beware. If something doesn't feel right, check and then check again. I was very lucky not to have US$1,000 siphoned out of me that day.

Scams happen a lot, and many people don't report them as well. Research shows that, despite the prevalence of scams in Australia, 33 per cent of Australians who fell victim to a scam did not report it due to various factors, including 44 per cent feeling like it was their fault, 33 per cent believing that it wouldn't be worth the effort and 26 per cent feeling embarrassed or ashamed. When I talk to victims, I want them to know: don't blame yourself. Scams can happen to anyone, with no exceptions. They should be reported.

This government is tackling scams. Last year's budget set aside $86.5 million to set up the National Anti-Scam Centre to stop scams in their tracks and to create Australia's first SMS sender ID registry to stop scammers from impersonating trusted brands. It's helped ASIC take down over 5,000 investment scam websites since July last year. The NASC is the government's primary weapon to detect, disrupt and deter scammers. The NASC brings together government experts with private sector partners like banks and law enforcement to stop scams in their tracks, using the latest technology. Just last month the NASC saved someone from losing $300,000 to a fake bond scam. It also educates people about scams and how to keep safe. Scams impact our entire country and we need to stop them. We need to do everything possible to do so.

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