As the country digs deep to support bushfire-affected communities and volunteer firefighters, authorities have warned Australians to watch out for scammers posing as charities or victims
“Do not donate via fundraising pages on platforms that do not verify the legitimacy of the fundraiser or that do not guarantee your money will be returned if the page is determined to be fraudulent,” an ACCC spokesperson said.
Scammers are using a variety of methods to solicit fraudulent donations, the spokesperson said, including crowdfunding pages that impersonate legitimate charities, cold calling and text messages posing as a charity asking for donations and pretending to be a victim of the fires. The warning comes days after a fraudulent crowd-funding page was set up claiming to support the family of a father and son killed while defending their home in Cobargo on the NSW South Coast,Paul the koala in the ICU recovering from burns at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, which has recieved more than $3.7 million in GoFundMe donations.
In December, Chiefly and Tuggerah Lakes Police Districts both released statements detailing scams involving people posing as NSW Rural Fire Service personnel. Chifley Police District, located at Bathurst, warned that a man was reportedly knocking on doors claiming to be a volunteer firefighter and asking for donations in Portland, Wallerawang and Cullen Bullen. In Tuggerah Lakes, on the NSW Central Coast, a person had been asking for donations over the phone.
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