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Phony Porn Scam Takes Aussies for a Ride

from www.smh.com.au – A fake porn scam has emerged as one of most popular means of ripping off Australians with international fraudsters netting around $70 million from here in the past year alone.

According to online payment company PayPal and Crime Stoppers Australia, the porn scam baits innocent people who have sent electronic goods overseas by claiming that their wares contained illegal pornographic material.

They said it was just one of a large number of online scams that claimed 20,000 Australian victims last year, according to figures from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The porn scam begins after a person sells their electronic goods overseas. Once payment has been received, an official looking letter from a fake foreign customs official arrives, stating a breach of import laws owing to pornographic materials found on the camera, phone or computer. The victim is told to pay a hefty fine or suffer dire consequences.

Presented as part of national cyber security awareness week, Crime Stoppers said other popular scams of 2009 included the Cross-Border Customs Con and Shipping Agent Scam which both target small business owners, and the the Big Win hoax, which steals its victims’ banking details.

The dangers of using social networking sites such as Facebook, and reporting of crimes occurring on these platforms have also been highlighted during national cyber awareness week.

The relationship between Facebook and law enforcement agencies has come under increasing scrutiny since the death of a Sydney teenager last month, who was allegedly killed by a man she met on the popular site.

To boost awareness of the issues, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are rolling out an initiative called ThinkUKnow which specifically targets parents looking to report activities to law enforcement agencies or seeking advice on activities such as cyber bullying.

Last month, the ABC reported that Picton woman Elise Wallis had complained to local police that she was repeatedly threatened on the social networking site Facebook, but said she was turned away.

Although NSW police did not respond to inquiries about the incident yesterday, NSW Assistant Commissioner Peter McErlain told the ABC last month that there had been a sharp increase in the number of complaints such as this one.

Peter Price, director of Crime Stoppers, said: “Facebook is a community and the only difference between it and Sydney CBD is that it is online. Police have a role to play in your normal suburbs and they have a role to play in online suburbs.

“The question is about what they can do. In a normal suburb you have infrastructure and organisation. Part of the responsibility of an online community is that the organisation providing the platform to that community provides that infrastructure – otherwise we are talking about things becoming like the wild west where there is no law and order.”

To streamline the police response to such threats, Neil Gaughan, assistant commissioner of the Australian Federal Police High Tech Crime Centre has been pushing for a local point of contact within Facebook to deal with law enforcement issues. He also told ITnews this week he would like to see the addition of a “report” button to the social media site.

“I’d like to think in six months time we’d be in a position where we have one of those two things in place,” he told ITNews after a recent visit to the US to discuss the relationships between content service providers and law enforcement organisations.

The National Rugby League took its own measures to protect the online security of players this week, calling in the AFP to advise players about privacy on social networking sites and protecting their personal and financial information. All 16 teams are expected participate in the security briefings.

“NRL players may have a higher profile than many people, but anyone’s reputation can be damaged and anyone can be vulnerable to online crime if preventative measures aren’t taken to protect your own personal information,” said Gaughan.

Aside from the phony porn customs fraud, other popular scams highlighted by Crime Stoppers include The Big Win hoax, the Cross-Border Customs Con and Shipping Agent Scam.

In the Big Win hoax, a large prize is offered for clicking on an email link. Once clicked, it asks for some personal details. A few days later, the winner receives an email that purports to be from their bank. Because it already contains many personal details victims are often tricked into updating their security settings – which include bank access details, after which their account is plundered.

The Cross-Border Customs Con and Shipping Agent Scam both target small business owners and are initiated with a large (fake) order or sale item from overseas. Prior to payment, the business receives an apparent customs form demanding fees or a form asking for a shipping agent fee. Once this is paid the order or sale vanishes into thin air.

According to Price, many internet crimes continue to go unreported because victims are unwilling to admit to police they were scammed. He said state-wide police hotlines had been established to open up lines of communication.

“Some people don’t want to front up to the police station, especially when they are a victim of fraud. A lot of people feel too embarrassed to face the guy on other side of counter, but there is no intimidation if you just pick up the phone.

“Basically if you are a victim of a crime it doesn’t matter how big or small. You should report it to police. Every bit of info is a good piece of information and they are all pieces of a puzzle that might to help track down a criminal,” he said.

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