June 10, 2024 • 26 mins
Are you aware of the sophisticated scams that could be targeting your business right now? Join me this episode as reveal the latest tactics scammers are using to compromise your financial safety, from email interception to text message frauds. I share a personal story about a conveyancing lawyer who alerted me to the rising threat of email interception scams, underlining the importance of vigilance when handling significant payments. Learn how to safeguard your business's cash flow and avoid devastating financial losses by adopting the right precautions.
It's time to equip yourself with the knowledge to make smart, money-saving decisions that will keep your business protected and profitable. Let me know what you think and if you've been a victim of a scam, reach out and share your story.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to the Secrets of Successful
Business podcast, your go-tosource for business tips, tricks
and proven strategies that willhelp you create a streamlined
and profitable business.
We chat to the best minds inbusiness about their journey,
how they started, what theylearned along the way.
How long are you going to givethis Going harder?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
to get more Focus on growing more with what you have.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
What they learned along the way.
How long are you going to givethis?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
What compromises are you going to make?
Just because you can do itdoesn't mean that you should do
it.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
It's really important to remember that it's a long
game and, of course, we'll askthem for their secret sauce for
creating a successful business.
If you're not failing, you'renot doing it right.
You should be struggling attimes.
That is part of the journey.
Join us as we take a sneak peekbehind the curtain, talk
solutions for those businesspain points working smarter, not
harder, mindset and thechallenges of fitting it all in
(00:57):
with the demands of today's busylifestyle.
If you're a business owner,side hustler or just starting
your business journey, thispodcast is for you.
Now here's your host, businesscoach and content creator,
justine McLean from FlossieCreative.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Hello and thanks for joining me on the podcast today.
In case we haven't met, I'mJustine, a small business owner
on a mission to uncover andshare the secrets of creating
and running a profitable,sustainable and successful
business.
I've been in business for over20 years now and I get to use
(01:35):
all that I've learned along theway to help other women in
business reduce the overwhelm,gain visibility around their
numbers, charge what they'reworth and make more money.
It's about designing a life youlove that fits into your
definition of success.
So if I can help you create theprofitable business you deserve
, please reach out Now withoutfurther ado.
Let's dive into today's episode.
Hello and welcome to thepodcast.
(01:59):
Did you know that in the firstthree months of 2024, aussies
lost approximately $73 millionto scammers?
Now, while the losses are down,which is unbelievable, 73
million complaints havedefinitely gone up.
So there's no question that ourawareness when it comes to a
scam is on the increase, butmore and more people are willing
(02:23):
to engage on these phone callsnot knowing what the outcome
will be, and most Aussies willlose up to $15,000 each to a
scammer at some point in theirlife, unless they're really
diligent.
And, of course, as businesstechnology improves, so do the
scams, and it doesn't just haveto be a business thing, it can
(02:46):
be a personal thing as well.
But the reality is the moretime and money you spend in your
business, the more things yousign up for, the more you put
your name out there, the morelikely you are to be on a
scammer's radar.
There are all sorts of scams,from links in text messages I
got one of those just yesterdaytelling me I had 3,280 calls
(03:10):
points that I needed to claim tothose official looking emails
to even the most subtle tricksthat are employed by businesses.
Scammers are really just havinga field day when it comes to
taking your money.
Now, any one of us can fallvictim to a scam.
There's no question about that,and it can happen when we least
(03:31):
suspect it.
You're in a hurry.
You get a text message, youopen it, you accidentally click
a link and all of a suddeneverything changes.
But the fallout for a business,particularly when it comes to
cash flow, can be reallydetrimental.
So, as scams involve, it'simportant to stay on top of the
(03:52):
latest information and be reallyvigilant for those red flags.
If it's too good to be true, itprobably is, but here are some
business scams that are goingaround right now that are worth
watching out for.
Now the first one is called anemail interception scam, and
it's really sophisticated, and Ifound out about this when I was
selling my house.
Basically, it's where a scammeris able to intercept an email
(04:13):
and this happens in the blink ofan eye and change out bank
account details that are on anemail or an invoice attached to
an email.
And then how I heard of it.
A lawyer phoned me when I wasbuying and selling homes at the
end of last year just to doublecheck that the bank accounts
that I had been given in theemail were the bank accounts
(04:35):
that were indeed the ones that Ineeded to transfer you know,
house deposits and stamp dutypayments into.
At the time it seemed reallyodd to me, but as a lawyer who
worked in conveyancing, sheassured me it was actually a
scam that was on the rise.
So hackers are really lookingfor those emails where large
(04:56):
money transfers are requested.
So house deposits is obviouslya clear one, but it could be for
other things.
It could be for a websitepayment, it could be money that
you owe to another business and,of course, if you're the person
who is on the other end of thatemail and you're just being
given some bank details to plugin, then maybe you're none the
wiser.
And I think in the past whereI've heard, the only time I've
(05:19):
heard about this sort of scam iswhere an employee of a company
say someone who's in an accountsdepartment, would actually be
altering the bank accountdetails on an invoice and
sending those through.
And when I was working inbookkeeping and bad services, it
was always really obviousbecause you would get an invoice
from a regular supplier andthere would be these bank
(05:39):
account details that weredifferent and so I would always
check in that case.
But the whole email interceptthing is really something to
look out for.
I think the rule of thumb hereis that you know if you're in
doubt, always check or doublecheck on the bank details,
particularly when you're payinga new supplier.
It really doesn't hurt.
Now, of course, you've got thetext message scams from, as I
(06:02):
mentioned earlier, the Coles youknow.
Click on this link and, kind ofyou know, redeem these points
to the mum.
I've lost my phone scam, but abig one going around is an email
from, or a text message from,the ATO telling you that you've
got a refund that you can claimand of course, we all have a bit
of money, so it's tempting toclick on that, but know that the
(06:24):
ATO will not send you a textmessage.
So definitely worth keepingthat at the top of mind.
And these impersonation scamsare really something that have
been happening for many years.
I remember years ago when I wasworking in insolvency and we had
what we called the tax agentscam and essentially what it was
(06:46):
doing was someone waspretending to be a tax agent,
someone calling from the ATO,and they were following up about
a BAS that had been lodged overthe phone and it all seemed
very legit.
They were asking for questionslike confirming the business
owner's names and their ABN, andof course, you know you're
(07:07):
giving that information out andoh yes, that's correct, or
they're telling you thatinformation.
Can I just confirm that thisbusiness's ABN you know that I'm
calling about today is this yes, but that information's already
available on the internet, ofcourse, and they're suggesting
that there is money overdue inBAS payments, past money due,
and, of course, on face value,it might've made sense had I not
(07:32):
been really aware, of course,that the tax department is never
going to reach out on the phoneand ask for money.
They'd send a message through asecure portal or they would
send out an email with a veryunofficial looking request for
someone to call them, butessentially what they're after
is for you to pay that moneyover the phone.
And because I knew what myclients owed in BAS, my default
(07:56):
was yep, sure, let me give you acall back and we can confirm
that further.
I need to get some moreinformation Now, immediately.
What they want to do is giveyou their phone number, but I
would say, don't pay anyattention to that.
No person from the ATO is evergoing to ring you and give you a
normal looking phone number.
There are a series of phonenumbers one, three numbers that
(08:18):
you can ring to get in touchwith the tax office.
That is what you need to bedoing, that's what you need to
be working on, and it's onethree numbers here in Australia.
By the way, it'll be differentnumbers wherever you are.
But it doesn't just stop withthe tax office, because in
another recent example of animpersonation scam and this is
something that happened to oneof my clients a bank employee
(08:40):
contacted my client and advisedthat there had been a couple of
odd transactions on theircompany account.
Now this was definitely alonger form scam.
I mean, we've all had thoseones where we get a recorded
message saying that we've spentmoney on Amazon.
I had one where someone fromthe credit card department of a
(09:01):
bank phoned me.
I think she called herself.
Someone from the VisaMasterCard department called me
insisting that I just sent $900to New Zealand.
Of course I asked her whetherthat was my MasterCard or my
Visa card that I used.
50% chance she's going to getthat right and she chose Visa.
Well, I don't have one, so thatwas pretty easy to kind of
(09:22):
uncover there.
But this bank employee scam iskind of it tends to go over
several days, sometimes evenseveral weeks, and this bank
employee will seem reallylegitimate.
They'll be really caring aboutthese strange transactions that
are going on on your account.
But initially it's simply aphone call to warn you that
they're happening.
Now they say that the bank isworking diligently, that they're
(09:46):
using their security featuresto block these fraudulent
transactions and, of course, ifyou're on the other end of the
phone and the bank's actuallydoing something helpful for you,
you're going to be wow.
They're being so diligent andhelpful, you know, fantastic, of
course.
After several days, the bank isthen going to re-contact the
person, and this is whathappened to my client.
A few days went past.
(10:07):
My client was contacted againsaying that the potential fraud
had now escalated and that thebank fraud team had decided that
the best way to counteract thiswas to create a new account,
basically an online account, andtransfer.
All.
That was so helpful that theysaid they'd actually wait on the
(10:28):
phone while my client createdthe account and explained
exactly how to do that in detail.
Go to this area of the website,click on here, do this Now, of
course.
The bank employee then asked myclient okay, now, what are
those new account details?
And I'm going to stay on theline while I check that
everything at my end is okay.
(10:48):
Of course, my client hascreated this new account.
They've transferred all of thecompany funds over.
But while my client was sittingthere on hold, the alleged bank
employee was actually somehowtapping into this new account
and, once the funds wereinstantly deposited from the
company account, took thosefunds and immediately
(11:08):
transferred them somewhere else.
Very common, obviously veryserious and sophisticated
technology that is going intothis sort of a scam, and, of
course, my client, you know,then, within seconds, was
looking at this account andseeing that where there was you
know, I think it was you know$70,000, it was now gone, and
(11:31):
obviously that is a big problemfor lots of different reasons
because, first of all, you don'tknow where the money is and it
becomes an immediate cashflowissue for your business.
Now, my client waited on holdfor the bank employee to come
back to see if there wassomething wrong and eventually
the phone was just disconnected.
So they called back the bankdirectly, spoke to their
(11:52):
customer service, who theninformed them no, this is
actually a scam.
Now, initially, the bank wasnot prepared to recoup the money
because my client was obviouslyacting of their own accord,
obviously following instructionsfrom what they thought was a
bank employee, but still actingon their own accord, and it took
months of angst and back andforth with the bank to resolve
(12:13):
the fraud.
They got the money back in theend, but it was still enough
time, without that cashflow,that it could have bought their
business undone, and so I thinkit is really important to be
alert when these things happen.
If you get a phone call fromyour bank, I would be asking for
someone's name hanging up thephone and then immediately
(12:37):
ringing back on the generic banknumber, or I would actually be
making a trip to a branch, ifyou can find one, so that you
can make sure that what they'retelling you is actually true.
I think you know a lot of thesescammers are completely
undeterred, like the lovely ladyI spoke to from the credit card
(13:00):
fraud department telling meabout that $990 I just sent to
New Zealand on my visa card.
You know that they apologizeand oh yes, I've made a mistake.
It was actually your mastercard.
So you know, I think you'vejust got to be try to be one
step ahead of them.
You either hang up, which iswhat I would advise.
I like to play a bit with thescammers, so I asked her what
the last four digits of thatcredit card was.
(13:23):
She immediately disconnectedthe call.
But the point here is that,despite the government running
these anti-scam technology andhaving these centres that are
trying to help prevent and blockthese scams altogether, there
are always going to be smartpeople who are one step ahead of
everything else that's going on, who are going to take
(13:45):
advantage of people who areeither vulnerable or who are
simply in a hurry to get to thenext thing.
So just keep in mind that ifthe bank or a tax department or
another authority calls you,never divulge your passwords,
your complete account details orother sensitive information
over the phone.
If they've called you, theburden of that they're legit
(14:09):
really falls on them, and so, asI said, best practice is to
hang up, get a number online orgo down to a branch, ring them
back and deal with the problemthat way.
So the other thing to do thatyou can always do if you're not
sure whether they're legit is tojust do a google search of the
(14:29):
business, particularly if it'snot something that's mainstream,
like a bank or the ato.
I think it's always worthcalling the main reception
number of a company if a companyreaches out to you, just
checking the authenticity of thecall, mentioning what's
happened on the phone and seeingwhether it is legit or not.
Certainly never share anythingvia email or text either.
(14:49):
It's not just sensitiveinformation over the phone and,
honestly, no legitimateorganization is ever going to
ask you to transfer money ormake a payment over the phone.
There are lots of other secureways to do this, so just be
extra vigilant when it comes tothat.
Okay, so the next sort of scam Iwant to talk about are the
(15:10):
investment scams.
Now, these can be hard to spot,but they're definitely on the
increase worldwide, from offersto buy cryptocurrency to fake
bonds or shares, and even theodd MLM multi-level marketing
opportunity.
If it's a get rich quickopportunity or a sure bet, it
could be a scam.
So always investigate beforeyou buy in.
(15:31):
Now there are also some lesssophisticated scams that are
using celebrities or influencers, their image, to endorse a
product or a service.
And you know, in talking aboutthese celebrities or influencers
a lot of times, what willhappen is these investment
scammers will either use thatimage or create a profile that
(15:53):
appears to be that celebrity'sor that influencer's profile,
and they will DM their followersand suggest that they invest in
currency or that they spendtheir money on X, y or Z.
Bottom line here is that it'sbest to refrain from investing
or buying into the idea of fastmoney, especially if it seems
(16:16):
like it's being sold by acelebrity or an influencer,
because you just don't know ifit is reality.
If you want to invest, whetherit's in shares, whether it's in
bonds, whether it's in crypto,the best way to do it is work
with someone who canlegitimately help you to do that
.
If you need the education or todo your due diligence, do your
(16:39):
research.
There is no point buying from acelebrity or an influencer, no
matter what they say.
In my experience a lot of these, you know people are simply
just taking your money and thentheir profile disappears.
It's the same as one of thepeople who is an influencer on
Instagram catfishing you.
(16:59):
There's no difference in it.
So just don't get sucked intothat.
I think the bottom line isreally to just step back when it
comes to this idea of investingor buying into fast money.
You know, a lot of these MLMschemes are simply making money
because you're buying a kit fromthe person who is on whatever
(17:20):
level of the pyramid and you'reexpected to sell a certain
number of these kits on andinvariably you're the one who
ends up out of pocket.
It's not really a scam, but itdefinitely can.
You know, while it's temptingto have that additional income
stream, it can often end indisaster.
So I think just have a look atyour business before you're
tempted to take the plunge.
(17:41):
Do that due diligence.
Sure, invest if you can affordto lose in multi-level marketing
, although I'm not endorsingthat definitely not endorsing
that, but you know.
But when it comes to listeningto celebrities, listening to
influencers, anyone who is legitis not going to be trying to
sell you on cryptocurrency, abond or a particular share on
(18:04):
Instagram.
I absolutely promise you.
Now, the last one I want to talkabout there are many other
scams and I could record a verylong episode on this.
The last one I want to talkabout there are many other scams
and I could record a very longepisode on this, but the last
one I want to talk to you abouttoday is what I call a
convenience trick.
Now, I can't really call thesea scam, because they're not
really a scam, but every timeyou get roped into using a third
(18:25):
party for a convenience payment, you're essentially spending
money you don't need to spend.
And there are two big ones thatgo on here all the time in
Australia, and it's likely thatthere are similar ones worldwide
.
Now, the first one is when itcomes to operating your business
, and, of course, it's a one-offthing.
When you operate a business herein Australia, you need to apply
(18:46):
for an Australian businessnumber or an ABN, and they're
free.
And if you want to apply for anAustralian business number or
an ABN, and they're free.
And if you want to apply for abusiness ABN, then you would go
to businessgovau and justregister.
And if you're listening fromoverseas, then you'll go to the
federal government website inyour area and register for
whatever it is you need toregister for to start your
(19:08):
business.
But of course it is you need toregister for to start your
business.
But of course, naturally, whenyou're looking to search for
registering for an ABN, you'reon Google.
You'll get a whole page full ofwhat look like really
appropriate government websitesand of course, as we normally do
, we think, okay, the top one inthe search bar might be correct
, so we click on that.
(19:29):
But no, in the search bar mightbe correct, so we click on that
.
But no, the actual governmentsite to register for the ABN is
about three or four down.
It's not the top couple.
The top couple owned andpromoted by these third party
businesses that are happy toregister an ABN on your behalf,
and when they're landing rightat the top of the google search,
(19:49):
they're obviously making money.
So instead of getting an abnfor free, people are paying 30,
40, 50.
There was one that was 98dollars that someone told me
about the other day and that'sjust not on in my book.
I mean, you can do it if youjust don't have the time to do
it yourself.
It's not as if it's a scam, butessentially it's something that
(20:10):
you're spending money on thatyou don't need to, and you're
also handing over a lot ofpersonal information to some
random business that has nothingto do with the government, and
I'm not sure what happens tothat information, because I
haven't been on the other side.
So if you need to do anybusiness registrations at all,
my suggestion is to go straightto the relevant government
(20:31):
authority that's requested thatregistration and just follow
their guidelines.
Now the other convenience trickand this is one that really
bugs me and it seems to trip upa lot more business owners,
because a lot of my clients haveactually lost money over the
years with this conveniencetrick is the old business name
(20:52):
registration renewal.
Now if you live in Australia andyou have a business and you
register a business name, youneed to re-register that name
every single year, and usuallywhat happens is a few weeks
before that registration is due,you're going to get a bill in
the post, an invoice in the postfor that renewal, and it will
come from a business that lookspretty legitimate and you'll
(21:15):
think, okay, easy, I'll just dothat.
But these are third partybusinesses and, again, they will
renew the business name on yourbehalf.
So it's definitely convenient,but doing it yourself genuinely
takes you a few minutes of workand it's also going to cost you
a third of what these businesseswant to charge you.
(21:36):
So when you renew your businessname via ASIC which, by the way
, is the only place in Australiait's the government authority
where you register businessnames ASIC, a-s-iic, asic you'll
pay around $42 for a year.
If you go through one of thesethird-party businesses, you will
be paying $199 a year, sodefinitely not worth doing.
(22:01):
In my book.
Now, the other thing to note isthat when it comes to business
name renewal time, asic willactually send you an email with
a link attached which is quiteironic for you to go ahead and
renew your business name.
Not only there'll be a link,there'll actually be a security
code there that you have toinput to go ahead and do it.
(22:22):
But again, $42 and a fewminutes versus $199, I know what
I would prefer.
There are lots more conveniencetricks that many busy business
owners take advantage of.
And if you're time poor andyou've got the money, then okay,
fair enough.
I completely understand.
But I believe in running areally lean business and keeping
(22:43):
money in my pocket because ithelps my family and my lifestyle
my pocket, because it helps myfamily and my lifestyle.
So I will always suggest thatyou stay vigilant and make
really smart, money-savingbusiness choices that are going
to keep you on the path toprofit.
So scams there are so many ofthem out there.
These have been just a few, butthese are a few typical ones
(23:07):
that I see in business all thetime, and the last thing that
you want to have to do as abusiness owner is to try and go
through the minutia with thebanks or the ATO or anyone else
to try and get money back, getidentity back, and to get things
back on track after you've beenscammed.
(23:30):
So don't be one of the peoplewho just randomly clicks or
chooses the first link or saysyes to someone on the other end
of the phone.
If you're time poor and youthink that you might be being
scammed, no matter how it comesthrough, take a beat, come back
to it later, deal with it later,when you can really pay it the
(23:53):
attention that it deserves, andhopefully what that's going to
do is save you from losing awhole bunch of money and a whole
lot of heartache.
Okay, I hope this episode hashelped you, and if you've
experienced or been a victim ofa scam and you'd like to share
what that is, let me know,because I'll then share that
with the audience.
I think if we continue to shareexactly what these scammers are
(24:16):
up to and gosh, don't we wishthey would use that intelligence
for good rather than forscamming people then I think
we'll all be in a better place.
Okay, until next time.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Thanks for listening to the Secrets of Successful
Business podcast.
For more information on allthings business, head to
flossycomau and make sure youhit subscribe on the show so you
don't miss another new episode.
If you're enjoying the show,please give it a quick rating or
review, share it on yoursocials or with friends who
might enjoy it.
(24:48):
Catch you next time.
You're listening to the Secrets of Successful
Business podcast, your go-tosource for business tips, tricks
and proven strategies that willhelp you create a streamlined
and profitable business.
We chat to the best minds inbusiness about their journey,
how they started, what theylearned along the way.
How long are you going to givethis Going harder?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
to get more Focus on growing more with what you have.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
What they learned along the way.
How long are you going to givethis?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
What compromises are you going to make?
Just because you can do itdoesn't mean that you should do
it.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
It's really important to remember that it's a long
game and, of course, we'll askthem for their secret sauce for
creating a successful business.
If you're not failing, you'renot doing it right.
You should be struggling attimes.
That is part of the journey.
Join us as we take a sneak peekbehind the curtain, talk
solutions for those businesspain points working smarter, not
harder, mindset and thechallenges of fitting it all in
(00:57):
with the demands of today's busylifestyle.
If you're a business owner,side hustler or just starting
your business journey, thispodcast is for you.
Now here's your host, businesscoach and content creator,
justine McLean from FlossieCreative.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Hello and thanks for joining me on the podcast today.
In case we haven't met, I'mJustine, a small business owner
on a mission to uncover andshare the secrets of creating
and running a profitable,sustainable and successful
business.
I've been in business for over20 years now and I get to use
(01:35):
all that I've learned along theway to help other women in
business reduce the overwhelm,gain visibility around their
numbers, charge what they'reworth and make more money.
It's about designing a life youlove that fits into your
definition of success.
So if I can help you create theprofitable business you deserve
, please reach out Now withoutfurther ado.
Let's dive into today's episode.
Hello and welcome to thepodcast.
(01:59):
Did you know that in the firstthree months of 2024, aussies
lost approximately $73 millionto scammers?
Now, while the losses are down,which is unbelievable, 73
million complaints havedefinitely gone up.
So there's no question that ourawareness when it comes to a
scam is on the increase, butmore and more people are willing
(02:23):
to engage on these phone callsnot knowing what the outcome
will be, and most Aussies willlose up to $15,000 each to a
scammer at some point in theirlife, unless they're really
diligent.
And, of course, as businesstechnology improves, so do the
scams, and it doesn't just haveto be a business thing, it can
(02:46):
be a personal thing as well.
But the reality is the moretime and money you spend in your
business, the more things yousign up for, the more you put
your name out there, the morelikely you are to be on a
scammer's radar.
There are all sorts of scams,from links in text messages I
got one of those just yesterdaytelling me I had 3,280 calls
(03:10):
points that I needed to claim tothose official looking emails
to even the most subtle tricksthat are employed by businesses.
Scammers are really just havinga field day when it comes to
taking your money.
Now, any one of us can fallvictim to a scam.
There's no question about that,and it can happen when we least
(03:31):
suspect it.
You're in a hurry.
You get a text message, youopen it, you accidentally click
a link and all of a suddeneverything changes.
But the fallout for a business,particularly when it comes to
cash flow, can be reallydetrimental.
So, as scams involve, it'simportant to stay on top of the
(03:52):
latest information and be reallyvigilant for those red flags.
If it's too good to be true, itprobably is, but here are some
business scams that are goingaround right now that are worth
watching out for.
Now the first one is called anemail interception scam, and
it's really sophisticated, and Ifound out about this when I was
selling my house.
Basically, it's where a scammeris able to intercept an email
(04:13):
and this happens in the blink ofan eye and change out bank
account details that are on anemail or an invoice attached to
an email.
And then how I heard of it.
A lawyer phoned me when I wasbuying and selling homes at the
end of last year just to doublecheck that the bank accounts
that I had been given in theemail were the bank accounts
(04:35):
that were indeed the ones that Ineeded to transfer you know,
house deposits and stamp dutypayments into.
At the time it seemed reallyodd to me, but as a lawyer who
worked in conveyancing, sheassured me it was actually a
scam that was on the rise.
So hackers are really lookingfor those emails where large
(04:56):
money transfers are requested.
So house deposits is obviouslya clear one, but it could be for
other things.
It could be for a websitepayment, it could be money that
you owe to another business and,of course, if you're the person
who is on the other end of thatemail and you're just being
given some bank details to plugin, then maybe you're none the
wiser.
And I think in the past whereI've heard, the only time I've
(05:19):
heard about this sort of scam iswhere an employee of a company
say someone who's in an accountsdepartment, would actually be
altering the bank accountdetails on an invoice and
sending those through.
And when I was working inbookkeeping and bad services, it
was always really obviousbecause you would get an invoice
from a regular supplier andthere would be these bank
(05:39):
account details that weredifferent and so I would always
check in that case.
But the whole email interceptthing is really something to
look out for.
I think the rule of thumb hereis that you know if you're in
doubt, always check or doublecheck on the bank details,
particularly when you're payinga new supplier.
It really doesn't hurt.
Now, of course, you've got thetext message scams from, as I
(06:02):
mentioned earlier, the Coles youknow.
Click on this link and, kind ofyou know, redeem these points
to the mum.
I've lost my phone scam, but abig one going around is an email
from, or a text message from,the ATO telling you that you've
got a refund that you can claimand of course, we all have a bit
of money, so it's tempting toclick on that, but know that the
(06:24):
ATO will not send you a textmessage.
So definitely worth keepingthat at the top of mind.
And these impersonation scamsare really something that have
been happening for many years.
I remember years ago when I wasworking in insolvency and we had
what we called the tax agentscam and essentially what it was
(06:46):
doing was someone waspretending to be a tax agent,
someone calling from the ATO,and they were following up about
a BAS that had been lodged overthe phone and it all seemed
very legit.
They were asking for questionslike confirming the business
owner's names and their ABN, andof course, you know you're
(07:07):
giving that information out andoh yes, that's correct, or
they're telling you thatinformation.
Can I just confirm that thisbusiness's ABN you know that I'm
calling about today is this yes, but that information's already
available on the internet, ofcourse, and they're suggesting
that there is money overdue inBAS payments, past money due,
and, of course, on face value,it might've made sense had I not
(07:32):
been really aware, of course,that the tax department is never
going to reach out on the phoneand ask for money.
They'd send a message through asecure portal or they would
send out an email with a veryunofficial looking request for
someone to call them, butessentially what they're after
is for you to pay that moneyover the phone.
And because I knew what myclients owed in BAS, my default
(07:56):
was yep, sure, let me give you acall back and we can confirm
that further.
I need to get some moreinformation Now, immediately.
What they want to do is giveyou their phone number, but I
would say, don't pay anyattention to that.
No person from the ATO is evergoing to ring you and give you a
normal looking phone number.
There are a series of phonenumbers one, three numbers that
(08:18):
you can ring to get in touchwith the tax office.
That is what you need to bedoing, that's what you need to
be working on, and it's onethree numbers here in Australia.
By the way, it'll be differentnumbers wherever you are.
But it doesn't just stop withthe tax office, because in
another recent example of animpersonation scam and this is
something that happened to oneof my clients a bank employee
(08:40):
contacted my client and advisedthat there had been a couple of
odd transactions on theircompany account.
Now this was definitely alonger form scam.
I mean, we've all had thoseones where we get a recorded
message saying that we've spentmoney on Amazon.
I had one where someone fromthe credit card department of a
(09:01):
bank phoned me.
I think she called herself.
Someone from the VisaMasterCard department called me
insisting that I just sent $900to New Zealand.
Of course I asked her whetherthat was my MasterCard or my
Visa card that I used.
50% chance she's going to getthat right and she chose Visa.
Well, I don't have one, so thatwas pretty easy to kind of
(09:22):
uncover there.
But this bank employee scam iskind of it tends to go over
several days, sometimes evenseveral weeks, and this bank
employee will seem reallylegitimate.
They'll be really caring aboutthese strange transactions that
are going on on your account.
But initially it's simply aphone call to warn you that
they're happening.
Now they say that the bank isworking diligently, that they're
(09:46):
using their security featuresto block these fraudulent
transactions and, of course, ifyou're on the other end of the
phone and the bank's actuallydoing something helpful for you,
you're going to be wow.
They're being so diligent andhelpful, you know, fantastic, of
course.
After several days, the bank isthen going to re-contact the
person, and this is whathappened to my client.
A few days went past.
(10:07):
My client was contacted againsaying that the potential fraud
had now escalated and that thebank fraud team had decided that
the best way to counteract thiswas to create a new account,
basically an online account, andtransfer.
All.
That was so helpful that theysaid they'd actually wait on the
(10:28):
phone while my client createdthe account and explained
exactly how to do that in detail.
Go to this area of the website,click on here, do this Now, of
course.
The bank employee then asked myclient okay, now, what are
those new account details?
And I'm going to stay on theline while I check that
everything at my end is okay.
(10:48):
Of course, my client hascreated this new account.
They've transferred all of thecompany funds over.
But while my client was sittingthere on hold, the alleged bank
employee was actually somehowtapping into this new account
and, once the funds wereinstantly deposited from the
company account, took thosefunds and immediately
(11:08):
transferred them somewhere else.
Very common, obviously veryserious and sophisticated
technology that is going intothis sort of a scam, and, of
course, my client, you know,then, within seconds, was
looking at this account andseeing that where there was you
know, I think it was you know$70,000, it was now gone, and
(11:31):
obviously that is a big problemfor lots of different reasons
because, first of all, you don'tknow where the money is and it
becomes an immediate cashflowissue for your business.
Now, my client waited on holdfor the bank employee to come
back to see if there wassomething wrong and eventually
the phone was just disconnected.
So they called back the bankdirectly, spoke to their
(11:52):
customer service, who theninformed them no, this is
actually a scam.
Now, initially, the bank wasnot prepared to recoup the money
because my client was obviouslyacting of their own accord,
obviously following instructionsfrom what they thought was a
bank employee, but still actingon their own accord, and it took
months of angst and back andforth with the bank to resolve
(12:13):
the fraud.
They got the money back in theend, but it was still enough
time, without that cashflow,that it could have bought their
business undone, and so I thinkit is really important to be
alert when these things happen.
If you get a phone call fromyour bank, I would be asking for
someone's name hanging up thephone and then immediately
(12:37):
ringing back on the generic banknumber, or I would actually be
making a trip to a branch, ifyou can find one, so that you
can make sure that what they'retelling you is actually true.
I think you know a lot of thesescammers are completely
undeterred, like the lovely ladyI spoke to from the credit card
(13:00):
fraud department telling meabout that $990 I just sent to
New Zealand on my visa card.
You know that they apologizeand oh yes, I've made a mistake.
It was actually your mastercard.
So you know, I think you'vejust got to be try to be one
step ahead of them.
You either hang up, which iswhat I would advise.
I like to play a bit with thescammers, so I asked her what
the last four digits of thatcredit card was.
(13:23):
She immediately disconnectedthe call.
But the point here is that,despite the government running
these anti-scam technology andhaving these centres that are
trying to help prevent and blockthese scams altogether, there
are always going to be smartpeople who are one step ahead of
everything else that's going on, who are going to take
(13:45):
advantage of people who areeither vulnerable or who are
simply in a hurry to get to thenext thing.
So just keep in mind that ifthe bank or a tax department or
another authority calls you,never divulge your passwords,
your complete account details orother sensitive information
over the phone.
If they've called you, theburden of that they're legit
(14:09):
really falls on them, and so, asI said, best practice is to
hang up, get a number online orgo down to a branch, ring them
back and deal with the problemthat way.
So the other thing to do thatyou can always do if you're not
sure whether they're legit is tojust do a google search of the
(14:29):
business, particularly if it'snot something that's mainstream,
like a bank or the ato.
I think it's always worthcalling the main reception
number of a company if a companyreaches out to you, just
checking the authenticity of thecall, mentioning what's
happened on the phone and seeingwhether it is legit or not.
Certainly never share anythingvia email or text either.
(14:49):
It's not just sensitiveinformation over the phone and,
honestly, no legitimateorganization is ever going to
ask you to transfer money ormake a payment over the phone.
There are lots of other secureways to do this, so just be
extra vigilant when it comes tothat.
Okay, so the next sort of scam Iwant to talk about are the
(15:10):
investment scams.
Now, these can be hard to spot,but they're definitely on the
increase worldwide, from offersto buy cryptocurrency to fake
bonds or shares, and even theodd MLM multi-level marketing
opportunity.
If it's a get rich quickopportunity or a sure bet, it
could be a scam.
So always investigate beforeyou buy in.
(15:31):
Now there are also some lesssophisticated scams that are
using celebrities or influencers, their image, to endorse a
product or a service.
And you know, in talking aboutthese celebrities or influencers
a lot of times, what willhappen is these investment
scammers will either use thatimage or create a profile that
(15:53):
appears to be that celebrity'sor that influencer's profile,
and they will DM their followersand suggest that they invest in
currency or that they spendtheir money on X, y or Z.
Bottom line here is that it'sbest to refrain from investing
or buying into the idea of fastmoney, especially if it seems
(16:16):
like it's being sold by acelebrity or an influencer,
because you just don't know ifit is reality.
If you want to invest, whetherit's in shares, whether it's in
bonds, whether it's in crypto,the best way to do it is work
with someone who canlegitimately help you to do that
.
If you need the education or todo your due diligence, do your
(16:39):
research.
There is no point buying from acelebrity or an influencer, no
matter what they say.
In my experience a lot of these, you know people are simply
just taking your money and thentheir profile disappears.
It's the same as one of thepeople who is an influencer on
Instagram catfishing you.
(16:59):
There's no difference in it.
So just don't get sucked intothat.
I think the bottom line isreally to just step back when it
comes to this idea of investingor buying into fast money.
You know, a lot of these MLMschemes are simply making money
because you're buying a kit fromthe person who is on whatever
(17:20):
level of the pyramid and you'reexpected to sell a certain
number of these kits on andinvariably you're the one who
ends up out of pocket.
It's not really a scam, but itdefinitely can.
You know, while it's temptingto have that additional income
stream, it can often end indisaster.
So I think just have a look atyour business before you're
tempted to take the plunge.
(17:41):
Do that due diligence.
Sure, invest if you can affordto lose in multi-level marketing
, although I'm not endorsingthat definitely not endorsing
that, but you know.
But when it comes to listeningto celebrities, listening to
influencers, anyone who is legitis not going to be trying to
sell you on cryptocurrency, abond or a particular share on
(18:04):
Instagram.
I absolutely promise you.
Now, the last one I want to talkabout there are many other
scams and I could record a verylong episode on this.
The last one I want to talkabout there are many other scams
and I could record a very longepisode on this, but the last
one I want to talk to you abouttoday is what I call a
convenience trick.
Now, I can't really call thesea scam, because they're not
really a scam, but every timeyou get roped into using a third
(18:25):
party for a convenience payment, you're essentially spending
money you don't need to spend.
And there are two big ones thatgo on here all the time in
Australia, and it's likely thatthere are similar ones worldwide
.
Now, the first one is when itcomes to operating your business
, and, of course, it's a one-offthing.
When you operate a business herein Australia, you need to apply
(18:46):
for an Australian businessnumber or an ABN, and they're
free.
And if you want to apply for anAustralian business number or
an ABN, and they're free.
And if you want to apply for abusiness ABN, then you would go
to businessgovau and justregister.
And if you're listening fromoverseas, then you'll go to the
federal government website inyour area and register for
whatever it is you need toregister for to start your
(19:08):
business.
But of course it is you need toregister for to start your
business.
But of course, naturally, whenyou're looking to search for
registering for an ABN, you'reon Google.
You'll get a whole page full ofwhat look like really
appropriate government websitesand of course, as we normally do
, we think, okay, the top one inthe search bar might be correct
, so we click on that.
(19:29):
But no, in the search bar mightbe correct, so we click on that
.
But no, the actual governmentsite to register for the ABN is
about three or four down.
It's not the top couple.
The top couple owned andpromoted by these third party
businesses that are happy toregister an ABN on your behalf,
and when they're landing rightat the top of the google search,
(19:49):
they're obviously making money.
So instead of getting an abnfor free, people are paying 30,
40, 50.
There was one that was 98dollars that someone told me
about the other day and that'sjust not on in my book.
I mean, you can do it if youjust don't have the time to do
it yourself.
It's not as if it's a scam, butessentially it's something that
(20:10):
you're spending money on thatyou don't need to, and you're
also handing over a lot ofpersonal information to some
random business that has nothingto do with the government, and
I'm not sure what happens tothat information, because I
haven't been on the other side.
So if you need to do anybusiness registrations at all,
my suggestion is to go straightto the relevant government
(20:31):
authority that's requested thatregistration and just follow
their guidelines.
Now the other convenience trickand this is one that really
bugs me and it seems to trip upa lot more business owners,
because a lot of my clients haveactually lost money over the
years with this conveniencetrick is the old business name
(20:52):
registration renewal.
Now if you live in Australia andyou have a business and you
register a business name, youneed to re-register that name
every single year, and usuallywhat happens is a few weeks
before that registration is due,you're going to get a bill in
the post, an invoice in the postfor that renewal, and it will
come from a business that lookspretty legitimate and you'll
(21:15):
think, okay, easy, I'll just dothat.
But these are third partybusinesses and, again, they will
renew the business name on yourbehalf.
So it's definitely convenient,but doing it yourself genuinely
takes you a few minutes of workand it's also going to cost you
a third of what these businesseswant to charge you.
(21:36):
So when you renew your businessname via ASIC which, by the way
, is the only place in Australiait's the government authority
where you register businessnames ASIC, a-s-iic, asic you'll
pay around $42 for a year.
If you go through one of thesethird-party businesses, you will
be paying $199 a year, sodefinitely not worth doing.
(22:01):
In my book.
Now, the other thing to note isthat when it comes to business
name renewal time, asic willactually send you an email with
a link attached which is quiteironic for you to go ahead and
renew your business name.
Not only there'll be a link,there'll actually be a security
code there that you have toinput to go ahead and do it.
(22:22):
But again, $42 and a fewminutes versus $199, I know what
I would prefer.
There are lots more conveniencetricks that many busy business
owners take advantage of.
And if you're time poor andyou've got the money, then okay,
fair enough.
I completely understand.
But I believe in running areally lean business and keeping
(22:43):
money in my pocket because ithelps my family and my lifestyle
my pocket, because it helps myfamily and my lifestyle.
So I will always suggest thatyou stay vigilant and make
really smart, money-savingbusiness choices that are going
to keep you on the path toprofit.
So scams there are so many ofthem out there.
These have been just a few, butthese are a few typical ones
(23:07):
that I see in business all thetime, and the last thing that
you want to have to do as abusiness owner is to try and go
through the minutia with thebanks or the ATO or anyone else
to try and get money back, getidentity back, and to get things
back on track after you've beenscammed.
(23:30):
So don't be one of the peoplewho just randomly clicks or
chooses the first link or saysyes to someone on the other end
of the phone.
If you're time poor and youthink that you might be being
scammed, no matter how it comesthrough, take a beat, come back
to it later, deal with it later,when you can really pay it the
(23:53):
attention that it deserves, andhopefully what that's going to
do is save you from losing awhole bunch of money and a whole
lot of heartache.
Okay, I hope this episode hashelped you, and if you've
experienced or been a victim ofa scam and you'd like to share
what that is, let me know,because I'll then share that
with the audience.
I think if we continue to shareexactly what these scammers are
(24:16):
up to and gosh, don't we wishthey would use that intelligence
for good rather than forscamming people then I think
we'll all be in a better place.
Okay, until next time.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Thanks for listening to the Secrets of Successful
Business podcast.
For more information on allthings business, head to
flossycomau and make sure youhit subscribe on the show so you
don't miss another new episode.
If you're enjoying the show,please give it a quick rating or
review, share it on yoursocials or with friends who
might enjoy it.
(24:48):
Catch you next time.
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