NAB is warning Australians selling items on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, and other second-hand sales websites to remain vigilant as new data revealed a spike in scams.
Over the past three months, customer reports of goods and services scams have jumped by 66%, with a third of the reports involving criminals trying to exploit PayID, a free payment method that uses a mobile phone number, email address, or ABN to send and receive funds almost instantly.
Chris Sheehan (pictured above), NAB executive of group investigations and fraud, said scammers ramped up their efforts targeting online marketplaces in late 2022 and the issue had continued to grow.
“We are getting reports of people selling an old TV or fridge online and being inundated with identical messages from scammers wanting to purchase the item with PayID,” Sheehan said.
“The buyer often claims the transaction couldn’t be completed because the seller doesn’t have a PayID ‘business account.’ The scammer might say they’ve paid to upgrade the seller’s account and now needs to be reimbursed.
“Scammers have realised online marketplaces can be an easy way to rip people off. They’re also exploiting the fact PayID is a relatively new payment method with money being transferred instantly.”
PayID-specific impersonation scams cost Australians $260,000 last year, according to Scamwatch, but the true number is likely much higher given many scams go unreported.
“The biggest red flag of any PayID-related scam is often if someone asks you for money to upgrade an account or to access PayID,” Sheehan said. “There are never any charges related to using PayID.”
“It’s also important to remember PayID will never send you an email, text, or message directly as your bank registers and manages PayIDs. If you get an email, text, or message directly from ‘PayID,’ it is a scam.”
Sheehan, a former executive with the Australian Federal Police, urged all Australians to pause before hitting send on a transfer and to never be pressured to make a payment.
“Digital banking is part of daily life for millions of Australians, while current cost of living pressures mean many are looking for ways to make extra money,” he said.
“For some people, that’s through selling unwanted goods online and decluttering their home in the process. It’s critical to educate yourself about PayID, so you can see through these scams and attempts to find extra money don’t actually end up costing you.”
To address this growing global problem, Sheehan said there should be greater collaboration across government, business sectors, and the community to stop the crime before it happens.
“Customer reports of scams to NAB increased 38% year-on-year,” he said. “We have more than 60 initiatives completed or underway to reduce the impact of scams. We’ll always make every attempt to prevent scams and recover funds where possible, but it can be very difficult once the funds have left a customer’s account.”
NAB identified the common red flags for PayID scams:
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