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Canberra Today 27°/30° | Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Scammers use “police” authority to trick businesses

A NEW phone scam that is making its rounds around Australia is one that involves a “police” person asking businesses for donations that will go towards the community. phone

CPR Call Blocker, a manufacturer that makes call blockers, is urging businesses in Canberra to hang up if someone claiming to be a local police officer phones.

The alleged “police” person will encourage businesses to make a donation to a community cause that the it has supposedly already supported in the past.

The scam involves a business receiving a call from a person (usually a male) claiming to be a local police officer, who begins by asking to speak with a company director by name and then asks a series of questions about whether or not there have been any problems with anti-social behaviour in the area lately.

CPR Call Blocker says this is a tactic to build a rapport with whoever answers the phone and display a level of knowledge of the local area to make them appear genuine.

A “colleague” of the caller then calls within ten minutes of the original call asking for payment and when challenged to provide a telephone number, so a business can call back, the scammer claims to have forgotten their number.

Kris Hicks from CPR Call Blocker says: “The issue with this type of scam is that people in businesses could easily be tricked in to thinking that they have supported a cause like this in the past.

“As many local businesses often give back to their communities through charitable donations, scams like these can be easy to fall for.

“The additional problem with calls like these is that people are naturally more inclined to trust a call that they receive from someone in a position of authority, such as a policeman.

“The use of official records, which are easily available, says it all and people should be warned that knowledge of these details is no guarantee that the caller is legitimate.”

 

Information via cprcallblocker.com.au 

 

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One Response to Scammers use “police” authority to trick businesses

Jacko says: 26 April 2017 at 11:40 am

Keep a sports air horn next to your phone and then give em a blast before you hang up on them. Make sure you whisper for the last part of the conversation so they are listening intently. This increases the the effect.

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