Scams, and the con artists behind them, are forever evolving and becoming more sophisticated and harder to spot.
ACM has compiled a list of current scams identified on sites such as scamwatch.gov.au, cyber.gov.au and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s website dedicated to informing people about fraudulent and dishonest activities.
Farm businesses warned of scams targeting agricultural sector
Scammers are ruthlessly luring farmers and rural businesses with seemingly good online deals on tractors and other farm machinery through fake websites or bogus classifieds on legitimate platforms and publications. File picture.
- Farmers and small businesses in rural and regional areas are urged to be cautious, particularly when buying heavy machinery, following a spike in scams targeting the agricultural sector this year.
- Reports to the ACCC’s Scamwatch show Australian farm businesses lost more than $1.2 million to scammers between January 1 and August 31, 2022, an increase of more than 20 per cent compared to the same period last year.
- The most common scam targeting farmers involved the sale of tractors and heavy machinery, with losses to this scam alone topping $1 million so far this year.
- Scammers are ruthlessly luring farmers and rural businesses with seemingly good online deals on tractors and other farm machinery through fake websites or bogus classifieds on legitimate platforms and publications.
- Scammers trick people through a range of ever-evolving methods such as…
