Latest news with #scammers
CTV News
8 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Quebec woman says scammers mimicked RBC, taking $15,000 in a convincing fraud
A Quebec woman says scammers posing as RBC representatives drained thousands from her business account in a convincing fraud.
SBS Australia
a day ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Stay scam alert at tax time
Stay scam alert at tax time Published 27 June 2025, 9:43 am As the end of financial year approaches, Australians are being warned it's a prime time for scammers. According to data from ANZ, tax rebate scams surged by 50 per cent in July last year, extortion scams also spiked. Consumers are urged to look out for suspicious messages, and scammers trying to impersonate banks and the Taxation Office.
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Potential distraction theft attempt reported in Guelph
A gold necklace is seen in this undated file image. (The Glorious Studio/ People in Guelph are being warned about the reemergence of a popular scam. A man told the Guelph Police Service he was walking near Edinburgh Road South and Carrington Place just before 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon when people inside a vehicle called out to him. Thinking they needed directions, he approached the car where he said the female passenger tried to put a gold necklace on him. He quickly stepped back and the vehicle took off. Police said scammers will often place cheap costume jewelry on a victim in hopes of distracting a potential victim long enough that they can take their real valuables. The man described three people in the vehicle as Middle Eastern, including a man and woman in their 40s and a woman possibly in her 70s who was asleep in the back seat. They were driving a newer grey Mazda 6.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Commonwealth Bank Australia reveals new 'honey pot' strategy in bid to stop scammers
Commonwealth Bank Australia has revealed a new strategy which will be put in place to stop scammers – using artificial intelligence (AI) to trap them in a 'honey pot' strategy. CBA, in partnership with says they are deploying thousands of conversation bots to stop scammers ringing or phoning actual Australians. This fleet of AI-powered bot profiles are engineered to engage with scammers, gather intelligence on them and disrupt scam operations all in near real-time. chief executive and founder Dali Kaafar said the system was based on a 'honey pot' strategy. 'We've designed our bots to be difficult to detect by scammers, making them incredibly effective at gathering intelligence and disrupting scam operations,' professor Kaafar said. 'The bots are uniquely crafted with diverse identities – varying in gender, age, tone, and cultural nuance – and finetuned with Australian slang and humour to improve realism.' Professor Kaafar said in collaboration with our telco partners, operates a vast and constantly growing network of dedicated telephone numbers connected to the telcos networks and designed specifically to be discovered and targeted by scammers. 'When a scammer dials or messages one of these numbers, they actually engage in conversations with one of our AI-powered bots and not a person,' he said. 'In the fight against scams, timing is everything. 'Our intelligence gives organisations like CBA the edge, not just to detect scams, but to anticipate and block it before it reaches customers.' Commonwealth Bank general manager of group fraud James Roberts said while the bank won't share specific methods this collaboration is helping to strengthen the ability to quickly and effectively to evolving threats. 'Since the pilot program was announced late 2024, it has expanded in both scale and sophistication,' Mr Roberts said. 'This has seen hundreds of thousands of scam calls diverted to bots, with intelligence gathered helping to generate near real-time alerts and blocks to protect CommBank customers. It comes as the bank looks to offset some of the financial damages caused by scammers in Australia. CBA says phone scams accounted for the highest overall financial losses in 2024, and were more likely to result in significant losses for an individual. Mr Roberts said every minute a scammer is engaging with a bot, is less time they can be using to target Australians. 'The near real-time intelligence being gathered is a game-changer in how we help to protect our customers and the broader community,' he said.
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Malay Mail
Blackpink fans lose SS$26,000 to ticket scams ahead of Singapore concerts
SINGAPORE, June 25 — Excitement is building for Blackpink's Deadline world tour stop in Singapore, but not all fans are celebrating. In just two weeks, at least S$26,000 (RM86,000) has been lost to scams involving bogus resale tickets to the K-pop girl group's upcoming shows on November 29 and 30 at the National Stadium. According to a June 24 statement by the Singapore Police Force, there have been at least 18 reported cases where victims were tricked into paying for fake tickets advertised on platforms such as Telegram, Carousell, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook Messenger, and Xiaohongshu. Scammers often sweet-talked their victims with screenshots or videos of what appeared to be legitimate tickets or payment receipts. They also claimed that tickets were in limited supply and had to be snapped up quickly — a tactic meant to pressure fans into making hasty payments. Worse, when the tickets never arrived, some scammers doubled down, asking for more money on the pretext that earlier payments hadn't gone through. Victims only realised they had been duped when the sellers disappeared. This isn't the first time Blackpink's popularity has been exploited by scammers. During the Born Pink tour in 2023, police received at least 128 reports of similar scams, with total losses reaching over S$206,000. Many of those affected were young Singaporean females aged 10 to 29. The police have reminded fans that tickets for the Deadline concerts are non-transferable and non-resellable. Anyone caught with a resale ticket risks being denied entry to the concert without a refund. To combat the scams, the police are working with platforms like Carousell, Facebook Marketplace and TikTok to remove suspicious ticket listings. They also urge the public to download the ScamShield app and to only buy tickets through Ticketmaster, the tour's official ticketing partner.
