Interview Highlight: Crime Stoppers

Peter catches up with Clare Dundas, from Crime Stoppers Victoria, with an inspiring initiative giving youngsters between 14 and 24 an opportunity and encouragement to study and improve their chances of employment. Clare also alerted us about scams trying to sell bogus puppies to the unsuspecting public.  

To verify a puppy for sale is not a scam go to:

Dogs Victoria

To learn more about anything else covered call 1800 333 000

More info: Crime Stoppers Victoria

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

S1 (00:01):
Welcome to this podcast made possible by Vision Australia Radio.
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S2 (00:13):
Time to catch up with Clare Dundas, our very good
friend from Crime Stoppers, Victoria Clare.

S3 (00:19):
Hi Peter. How are you today?

S2 (00:20):
Pretty good. And what are you saying to you before
coming away? What? I started reading your email. I've got
myself mixed up here because you're talking about Skype us.
But this is a tremendous initiative, is a chance to
be more about it.

S3 (00:33):
It really is. So we have partnered with the Victorian
Skateboarding Association and a number of local youth employment groups
to bring this initiative to life. And what we try
to do is we've tried to connect with young people
and provide them with education and employment opportunities and that's
across Victoria, so that's across the whole state.

S2 (00:54):
And is this kind of a sort of prevention is
better than cure sort of approach?

S3 (00:58):
It absolutely is. So how it's going to work is
over the next two years, the initiative will offer young
people aged between 12 to 24 free skateboarding sessions. And
in addition to learning a new skill, each program participant
will be offered the chance to meet these local youth
employment services to discuss their future work opportunities.

S2 (01:18):
It's a wonderful idea, a little bit sort of square,
but sometimes that can be the projects or the initiatives
that can get the most gravitas because they are a
little bit unique, a bit different to what sort of
conventional thinking might be.

S3 (01:32):
You're absolutely right that we wanted to do something really fun.
So we want to connect with kids by skateboarding, like
through the sort of sport of skateboarding, which is hugely popular.
And then via that sport and the comfortable environment that
the kids are in, then start to talk to them
about what does the future look like? Is there education

(01:52):
and work opportunities that they'd like to explore and also
works with? We're going to talk to them that these
young people that can be vulnerable about ways that they
can sort of report and share crime information to Crime Stoppers.
So it's triple fold what we're doing here.

S2 (02:09):
And that's a great point is because, you know, trying
to be able to be comfortable in the fact that
they're reporting stuff is especially important because as we hear
much every day through the media, it's the little clues
that can make such a big difference to sort of
any kind of case.

S3 (02:25):
That's right. It doesn't matter how small the piece of
information you have, it could be the missing piece that
solves the case. So we're always telling everyone that we
can speak to that. It doesn't matter if you don't
think it's relevant or it's too small. We want to
hear about it, so to speak.

S2 (02:42):
More how this works. And Claire's, you know, I love
my statistics and some interesting stuff around this as well
as my regarding stats.

S3 (02:49):
Well, there really is because in 2021, we could say
with the ABS data that 11% of 16 to 24
year olds were not in education, employment or training. And
anyone that isn't doing something after school is too big
a number in my mind. And we also know that
young people are particularly vulnerable in making the transition from

(03:11):
school to further educational work. And we know that's because
of a lack of understanding of education and career pathways.
So when you get to 18 and you're finishing high school,
it's hard to know what to do. So sometimes kids
need guidance. They need to be shown what pathways and
what are available to them.

S2 (03:32):
Because I know often when I speak to young people
who might be doing work experience, I say, well, it's
kind of okay if you go somewhere to do work
experience and you don't like it because then least you
know what you don't want to be pursuing. So that's
kind of a positive thing as well.

S3 (03:46):
Absolutely. It really is. And I guess why we're rolling
out this initiative is because there's over 1 million people
aged between 12 to 24 that reside in Victoria, which
is a huge number and 28% of them live regionally.
So we are trying to cater for a lot of
young people. We're offering nearly 5000 places in these free

(04:06):
skateboarding sessions across the state, so we're hoping to reach
as many young people as possible.

S2 (04:11):
And of course you've got the peer support sort of
effect that can come from it as well. If a
few people join up or, you know, take part, they
show their mates about it. And it's got a lot
more power as well from more people being involved with
more people being aware of it.

S3 (04:29):
Absolutely. And we would love that to happen for friends
and and people that find out about it to say,
let's go and do this session, because it caters for
all skill levels as well. It's not really serious skaters.
You can be intermediate or not knowing too much about skateboarding.
Go down and have a class and have some fun.
So if people are looking for more information, they can

(04:49):
jump on the Crime Stoppers Victoria website and you can
also register there for one of the sessions.

S2 (04:55):
And of course the last year or so with the Olympics,
skateboarding is now an Olympic sport. So again, all of
a sudden. Awareness gets raised or kids go out and
try and do what their role models might be doing.
So again, it becomes very, very popular, and thus those
of us that are city slickers get a bit caught
up with being a bit city centric. But as you say,

(05:16):
a million people of this age in Victoria and a
lot of them would be living in the non-metropolitan area
as far as Melbourne goes.

S3 (05:23):
That's right. So we will be going to regional areas
as well with this initiative. It really is important to
try and reach as many people as possible. But you're right,
skateboarding is a hugely popular sport and making it official
within the Olympics I think is our guide to that.

S2 (05:38):
So the initiative has started at this stage or it's
about to get underway in.

S3 (05:42):
Jess Peter it actually launched last Tuesday.

S2 (05:46):
Okay.

S3 (05:46):
So it's well and truly on its way and there's
going to be sessions rolled out across the rest of
this year and into next year. So it's a two
year initiative and like I said before, jump on the
website and find out some more information and see where
your local session could be at.

S2 (06:01):
It would be good to catch up with you in
a couple of years time. Claire might get a bit
of a early appointment to see how it all goes.
So I guess that's the other thing, isn't it, to
get some sort of feedback and look at how the
program is accepted.

S3 (06:14):
And what.

S2 (06:14):
Comes of it as.

S3 (06:15):
Well. Yes, that's right. That will be so important to
say where some of the people that have attended, where
they end up and how it will have benefited them.
That's the whole point of the project to say what
pathways that they can enter into. So it'll be hugely
important to see how it benefits these young people.

S2 (06:32):
The follow up, Claire, I really enjoy talking to you
and we get some really positive stuff from you, but
sometimes I think, Oh my God, not another scandal. And
this time it's dealing with drugs. I mean, is there
no limit to these people said I was going to
call an engineer with you. That's not the right word.
Is that sort of makes it sound good?

S3 (06:51):
Unfortunately, no. There are just so many scams out there
and they are getting more creative. And we have discussed
many scams in the past, and this one today is
about puppies. And it really is playing on people's, you know, vulnerabilities.
I want to get in a new family member puppies
or a family member. So, so many people and they're

(07:12):
getting scammed in the process.

S2 (07:14):
Just read more about how this is all playing out, unfortunately.

S3 (07:17):
So police are urging Victorians to be alert to scammers
following reports of widespread scam activity linked to the sale
of puppies. Detectives from across the state are investigating reports
of hundreds of people who have lost thousands of dollars
after being scammed by a fake puppy. Advertisement. The scammers
are advertising puppies and asylum websites that appear to be

(07:38):
professional and advertised through online marketplaces. Once a buyer makes
an enquiry with the seller, buy a central photo of
the puppy. Victims are generally asked to make cash deposits
into a bank account for the puppy, which often includes
costs for interstate transport, insurance and registration fees. They can
also be asked for additional fees once that money is paid.

(08:02):
But what happens is that once the money is transferred
to communication, whether it be by email, text, online or telephone,
then faces and they are unable to get in contact
with the person that was selling the puppy in the
first place.

S2 (08:16):
That's it's terrible. Listen, I mean, it boggles the mind
that people do that. And I believe that often people
don't do the fine. Why, if you like, it's a
little bit hard to actually speak to someone in depth
when you're getting desperate. Well, what the hell happened to
my puppy? What was it? What the hell? What happened
to my money? It's so nice to speak to someone.
And Marcus, if there's no communication speed, no text isn't

(08:38):
going to work anyway. But, you know, that must be
such so stressful. You know, I have no puppy and
no money.

S3 (08:43):
Absolutely. It is so stressful. And these people are really
wanting to purchase a puppy and going to great lengths.
But that's what the scammers are doing. They are preying
on these vulnerabilities of people.

S2 (08:57):
So what can we do? How can we better be
prepared to make sure we don't get hurt?

S3 (09:02):
Well, there are a few really good tips that we
can sort of implement if we're looking for a puppy.
And the first one is doing a reverse text or
image search of the pet that's being advertised. And if
you don't know what that is.

S2 (09:15):
If you aren't.

S3 (09:16):
Jumping into your Google search toolbar and getting the image
of the puppy, uploading it into the Google search bar
and what that will do, it's a reverse image search.
And what it will do is pull up the first,
it will pull up the source of that image. And
if you find that it is on multiple websites, that
is generally meaning that it's a scam. So they've taken

(09:37):
that photo from another website and they're using it to say,
I'm selling this puppy, but really they're not.

S2 (09:42):
Oh, well, can you repeat that claim? Because I I've
never heard of that before, but that's a that's an
excellent insight. You just go through that whole thing again.
So that's amazing.

S3 (09:51):
So it's a reverse search, a reverse image search, which
is done through good Google search. Sorry. And all you
have to do is upload the image of the. I'll
be into that Google Search toolbar and it will find
the source image of that in the original image that
it was uploaded on whatever website it may date. And

(10:11):
if you find that it's on a number of websites,
you can be quite sure that it is a scam.

S2 (10:16):
Okay, that's a great tip. I must admit. I said
I've never heard of that before, but you know, this
is the crooks, my faith based ways that we can
sort of give ourselves a really good chance. So that
that's fantastic.

S3 (10:31):
Absolutely. We can also try to make the pitch in
person before handing over the money. And if it's not
possible to do that, because I know that a lot
of puppies are sold interstate. Now ask the seller to
do a video call where you can see them handling
and playing with the pet. So you've got the evidence

(10:51):
of them actually playing with the puppy and that there
really is a puppy that they're selling.

S2 (10:55):
And of course that they don't like that any of
those ideas, then they all get ready to fly goes.

S3 (11:00):
Up. That's exactly right. The other one that you kind
of touched on before is beware of sellers who don't
communicate by phone if they're only contacting you by text
or email, that is definitely another red flag because they
could be overseas, for all we know, contacting you and
trying to scare me.

S2 (11:17):
And I think probably the whole thing about you don't
hand over the money until you get the product that
better a copy or, you know, a mobile phone or
a television set or whatever. I think it's really dead
in your hand. And sadly, you've almost got to not
trust people rather than be a good person and be
trusting everyone.

S3 (11:35):
That's exactly right. And it's crazy the amount of people
that do hand over money before they receive the goods
or in this case, a puppy, all the service, no
matter what it may be. So people are getting scammed,
which is a really sad part. And further to that,
with these scams, even once that individual has paid for
the puppy, the scam is coming back and asking for

(11:56):
additional costs. So they're saying, Oh my gosh, this dramatic
thing has happened where they can't get the puppy to
say they're asking for more money for whether it be
for vet bills or for additional shipping costs.

S2 (12:09):
That's amazing. Clara, is there a website that can also
help with things like this? Yes.

S3 (12:15):
Organization is a reputable breeders association and that's dogs Victoria
dot org dot you where you can go on and
check otherwise you can jump on websites like the I
will say which they are always talking about the most
current scams. So if people have reported it on there,
you'd be able to jump online and check and they

(12:36):
will have details about the person and the scam that's
being perpetrated. So that's another really good tip, the other one,
and it's just one to keep in the back pocket
for all things that if the pet is very cheap
that you're trying to buy, if the price is too
good to be true, it probably is like many.

S2 (12:56):
Yes. Well, I mean, I know people that have bought
pets recently and, you know, they are quite exorbitant numbers.
But I guess, as you say, if if people send
you something cheap, then they're too good to be true,
then it probably is. Okay, that's. Well, I was going
to say it's wonderful, wonderful information, sad that it has
to be broadcast to to alert people of it. So

(13:17):
just give us some details and just give us the
website of the the organization that they can help out.
And we'll put that up on our Facebook page. And
then we'll also get to your phone number and the
website as well through Crimestoppers, Victoria.

S3 (13:32):
So if you're seeking information about a breed or reputable
breeders association, that's exactly what the website kind of goes into.
It's dogs, Victoria Dawg, don't you.

S2 (13:44):
Think.

S3 (13:45):
If you've been scammed, we encourage you to contact your
local police station, but if you've got information relating to
a puppy scam so you know someone or something that
is related, you can actually contact Crime Stoppers on one
800 333000 or submit a confidential report online at Crimestoppers.

S2 (14:04):
Victoria Clare Absolutely enlightening. Thank you so, so much for that.
We'll catch up again next month. But there was a
lot of great information. Congratulations particularly on that initiative with
the youngsters on skateboards. I think that's wonderful. And it's
one of those things, as we talked at the beginning,
prevention is better than cure. And I think it means
that more people being working, less people will be doing

(14:26):
things that are not too good for the community. So
well done all round with that.

S3 (14:30):
Thank you, Patron. Hopefully I'll have a few really great
stories to share with you in 6 to 12 months time.

S2 (14:36):
We're here for you. Thanks, Clare.

S3 (14:38):
Thanks, Peter.

S2 (14:39):
Clare Dennis there from Crime Stoppers, Victoria.

S1 (14:46):
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