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Parents' Alert - Watch out for Scams!

Did you know that some typical scams are:
• Cold calling and phone scams- be aware of callers selling investment products or offering financial advice
• Fake bank emails/phishing – if you receive an email that looks like it is from your bank but is asking for any personal information, especially pin numbers or account numbers, this is probably fraudulent. Contact your bank directly to inquire.
• 'Nigerian' letters and advance fee frauds – emails asking you to send money for investment to another country, often Nigeria

Signs of a scam:
• A promise of unrealistic returns
• Claim to be risk free
• Say they are 100% guaranteed but provide no paperwork to back it up
• Apply pressure to sign in
• Provide incentives e.g. free gifts
• Use lines such as “Everyone in the street has signed up and you might miss out” or “It’s the best deal anywhere but only if you sign up now”

Be careful with deals that:
• Are exclusive or need you to make a decision right away
• Try and pressure you to sign up
• Ask you to pay in cash and only provide returns in cash
• Have no written records
• Keep the funds overseas
• Have the only contact as a mobile number

What to do?

Remember;
• The key thing is to stop and think, and check things out before you buy
• If you feel pressured say ‘Thanks, but no thanks.  I don’t like being pressured into important decisions.’

So:
• If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is
• Don’t sign anything straight away
• Read the fine print- especially at the bottom of a page
• Ask for time to think about it
• Check carefully to see if you're really sure it's what you need and you have the money to cover it

To read more about these scams please visit: http://www.fido.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf