Consumers warned about putting personal details online

Many broadband users across Australia put a range of personal details online for one reason or another, but are warned against doing so due to the increase in scams over the past twelve months.

These days there are many Australians who wouldn’t think twice about putting their personal details online. Broadband users go onto many different websites including social networking sites and put on a range of personal details without thinking about the fact that these could fall into the wrong hands very easily.

However, recently a warning has been issued by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, David Bradbury, who was speaking at the launch of National Consumer Fraud Week. He said that many people were taken in by scams ion Australia, and these scams had increased in terms of activity over the last year.

He said: “As we begin our sixth National Consumer Fraud Week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released its Scams Activity Report 2010, which shows that the consumer watchdog received more than 42,000 reports of scams last year – more than double the number of reports received in 2009. Consumers need to arm themselves with information to avoid being conned by scam artists. At a time when the use of social media has exploded, more people are being targeted by scammers who are using personal information that is freely available on the Internet. Make sure you think carefully before publishing your personal information on websites like Facebook and Twitter – these sites can be goldmines for scammers who can then use that information to target you.”

He praised those that were involved in raising awareness of these scams stating: “I’d like to acknowledge the work of the regulatory agencies, Government departments, and business partners like Microsoft, Cars Guide, Westpac and Facebook who make up the Australian Consumer Fraud Taskforce, which has been instrumental in raising consumer awareness of scams and fraud. If you think you may have been a victim of a scam, or if you want to keep informed of the latest scams, you can go to the SCAMwatch website at www.scamwatch.gov.au.”

Have you put personal details online before? Let us know with your comments

Source – Treasurer