Logan residents are being warned not to let their guard down once Christmas is over, with experts saying the New Year is one of the busiest periods for scammers.
Griffith University senior lecturer Dr David Tuffley said January was a hotspot for scam activity, as people hunted for post-Christmas bargains and waited on holiday deliveries.
“People are often a bit less wary in the New Year because it’s all a bit of an anticlimax once Christmas and New Year are over, so their defences might be down.”
Dr Tuffley said the most common scam currently targeting Australians was the delivery text scam.
“You get a text message saying something like, ‘We tried to deliver to your address but there was a problem,’ and it asks you to click a link,” he said.
“If you do that, you’re either getting malware or ransomware automatically loaded onto your phone, or it will solicit your credit card details.”
Fake online shopping websites were the second most common scam, with criminals using artificial intelligence to clone legitimate retail sites.
“With AI now, you can point it at any e-commerce shop and it will clone it and make a very convincing copy,” Dr Tuffley said.
“They then doctor it up to harvest credit card details or load malware.”
Other prevalent scams include demands for payment via gift cards and fraud on Facebook Marketplace, where heavily discounted items are advertised but never delivered.
“Facebook Marketplace is still a pretty active hotbed of scammers,” he said.
“They’ll advertise something like a Nintendo Switch at half the price, brand new, and of course the item evaporates once the money’s sent.”
Dr Tuffley said these common scams likely accounted for “90-plus per cent” of scam activity, but warned newer AI-driven techniques were making fraud harder to spot.
“AI can clone people’s voices, clone websites and even create deepfake ads,” he said.
“That’s a pretty new thing, and people might fall for it because it’s a scam they’ve never seen before.”
For anyone who does fall victim, Dr Tuffley said quick action was critical.
“The very first thing to do is get straight onto the bank,” he said.
“They can cancel a credit card very quickly or reverse a transaction if it’s gone through.”
He also encouraged people to report scams through Scamwatch and to familiarise themselves with common warning signs.
“The best advice, particularly with text messages, is never ever click on links,” Dr Tuffley said.
“If it’s an Australia Post message, go to the Australia Post website yourself and check it there.”
Dr Tuffley said a moment of caution could save locals from significant financial stress.
“If something feels urgent or too good to be true,” he said, “that’s when you stop and think.”
