People targeted by scammers asking for iTunes gift cards as payment can report the scam to www.scamwatch.gov.au. People can also make a report on the Scamwatch website, or find more information about where to get help. Gift cards make a convenient present, especially when you can buy them online or pick one up at the supermarket or your local Australia Post outlet. Businesses that sell iTunes gift cards are encouraged to inform their staff about these scams so that they can help warn customers and even question any customers spending large amounts of money on iTunes gift cards. Forums. This includes the activation expiry date for cards that need to be activated before use Search. More than $5 million was lost in 2018, a 38 per cent jump on the previous year. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has set requirements for vouchers and gift cards, based on the Corporations Act 2001. Twenty18. Social media and online advertising have created a … Shopping. After 1 November 2019, if terms and conditions of a gift card do not comply with the reforms they will be void and the new requirements will be applied regardless of what is written on the gift card. Unsafe. If the victim doesn’t pay an immediate ‘fine’ using iTunes gift cards, the scammer claims police will come and handcuff them. New 3-year minimum life for gift cards November 5, 2019 The ACCC is alerting small businesses that new national rules for gift cards came into effect on November 1 and apply to all Australian businesses. Give the gift of choice and send the perfect present straight to their inbox with an eGift Card from David Jones. Gift cards are increasingly the payment method of choice for scammers. Am I missing something here? Australia New Zealand. accc.gov.au Review. On 18 October 2017, the NSW Government passed the new gift card laws, meaning that NSW businesses will be required to extend the expiry date of gift cards sold in NSW to three years or face penalties of up to $11,000. Losses to scams where non-iTunes gift cards were used as payment increased by 530 per cent in 2018 to around $1 million. Where the ACCC has reasonable grounds to believe a breach of the gift card provisions has occurred we can issue an infringement notice. If you have a gift card which will expire while a business is in hibernation, you may wish to contact the business directly to negotiate an alternative arrangement. There are a few valid reasons for this 23.7 mark. The ACCC noted that while it contacted many pharmacies, banner groups and wholesalers, many were unconcerned with the merger or did not engage at all. a business handing out $15 vouchers to passers-by for its grand opening) Vouchers and gift cards: must clearly display the expiry date. Catch-a-hacker scam – scammers pretending to be Telstra will ask their victim to help them catch a ‘hacker’ who’s trying to get into their PC or smart devices. Gift cards The maximum pecuniary penalty for a breach of the Rules for gift cards is $30 000 for a body corporate and $6 000 for an individual. However Scamwatch has also seen an increase in reports involving other gift cards such A warning has been issued over a fake Woolworths email. “If someone asks you to pay for anything using an iTunes gift card, it is a scam. Gift card expiry . Gift cards are increasingly the payment method of choice for scammers, according to the Scamwatch website published by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Unfortunately the scammer will quickly get the serial numbers for those gift cards and sell them before the victim realises they’ve been duped. Our doors will be closed from the 24th of December, where we'll operate in a reduced capacity until we return on 4 January, 2021. It’s very difficult to get your money back but the sooner you report it, the better your chances.”. They claim they can do this by sending money from the victim’s bank account or via gift card serial numbers. The ACCC is warning people to be on the lookout for scammers who are trying to con their victims into paying for scams with Apple iTunes gift cards. The scammer pretends to be from the Australian Taxation Office and claims there is a warrant for their victim’s arrest. “If you paid a scammer with a gift card, report it as soon as possible. If a customer suspects there has been unauthorised use of their Australia Post Gift Card, they should contact the Customer Care team immediately on 1800 549 718 to report the issue. menu Whirlpool Go to navigation. Reports to Scamwatch show there are three common scam examples the ACCC is currently seeing where scammers are demanding iTunes gift cards as payment: The scammers will get their victims to travel to a business where iTunes gift cards are sold, such as a supermarket or department store, and get them to purchase amounts sometimes worth thousands of dollars. Selling gift cards or vouchers can be a great business opportunity for many businesses. Businesses that sell iTunes, Google Wallet and similar gift cards are encouraged to inform their staff about these scams so that they can help warn customers. Apple’s website clearly states iTunes gift cards can only be used to purchase goods and services on the iTunes Store, App Store, iBooks Store, or for an Apple Music membership. Whirlpool Forums Addict reference: … The ACCC's Scamwatch has received 1175 complaints this year about fake surveys and online posts offering gift cards. During 2017 to date, reports to the ACCC’s Scamwatch show 1236 people lost nearly $540,000 to scammers using gift cards as payments. From the ACCC family to yours, we'd like to wish you a happy and saf... e holiday season! However Scamwatch has also seen an increase in reports involving other gift cards such as Google Play,  Amazon, and Steam cards, and Australia Post Load & Go prepaid debit cards. “Scammers like to get gift cards as payment as it’s easy for them to quickly sell them on secondary markets and pocket the cash,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said. 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They can’t usually be exchanged for cash unless there is a remaining amount on the card that the business believes can’t be conveniently used. For information about our role and the laws we enforce, please visit our website. Most importantly, the domain name is very new. Head instore to purchase a David Jones Classic or Disney Gift Card * to redeem instore or online. A gift card or voucher is a card loaded with an amount of cash that lets you, or the person you give it to, pay for goods and services. The scammer asks the victim to pay an immediate ‘fine’ using gift cards or bitcoin, and claims police will come and arrest them if not. “If you pay for a scammer’s con with iTunes gift cards it’s nearly impossible to get your money back. Remember that gift cards must now be valid for three years, and even if a business changes hands, the gift card must be honoured. iTunes cards accounted for $3.1 million in losses — a 156 percent increase from the $1.23 million reported in 2017. The Scam Detector's VLDTR® finds accc.gov.au having a low authoritative rank of 23.7.This means that the business is characterized as Suspicious. This is a growing trend: in the 2015-16 financial year losses were about $480,000. There are several common types of scams involving gift cards: Victims are also tricked into giving up personal details with the promise of gift cards. Archive View Return to standard view. This is likely in response to scam warnings about using iTunes cards for paying scammers that are in stores like supermarkets and on the cards themselves.”. Scammers entice victims to participate in surveys by promising gift cards as a prize, however the surveys extract personal information such as your name, date of birth, address details and even financial details like your credit card or bank numbers. Gift cards are increasingly the payment method of choice for scammers. The ACCC have changed the minimum expiry period for gift cards sold from the 1 st of November, which now need to be: must be valid for at least three years must clearly show the expiry date, and can’t include any ‘post-supply’ fees. Woolworths confirmed the email is a scam and said it has been reported to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch. 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This requirement does not apply to gift cards that are: able to be reloaded or topped up donated for promotional purposes (e.g. Amazon. ACCC warns about gift card scams The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has advised that gift cards are increasingly the payment method of choice for scammers. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been recently focussing on how these gift vouchers are presented to the unsuspecting consumer. Consumers are invited to follow @scamwatch_gov on Twitter and subscribe to Scamwatch radar alerts to get up-to-date warnings. Don't gift a scammer iTunes cards 11 September 2017 The ACCC is warning people to be on the lookout for scammers who are trying to con their victims into paying for scams with Apple iTunes gift cards. They’ll use this sham story to get the victim to buy iTunes cards as a ‘trap’ for catching the hacker. Gift Cards Bill unwrapped by the Lower House The ACCC is warning people to be on the lookout for scammers who are trying to con their victims into paying for scams with Apple iTunes gift cards. Centrelink scams – the scammer pretends to be from Centrelink and tells their victim they’re entitled to an additional payment, such as for their pension, and that they need to pay a ‘release fee’ in iTunes gift cards to receive the payment. what you can expect “If staff are informed they can identify the warning signs of a scam when they notice a customer spending large amounts of money on gift cards,” Ms Rickard said. It may be provided as a card, voucher or a code sent electronically (usually by email). The scammer calls and pretends to be from a law-enforcement agency or internet provider and convinces the victim they are trying to trace the location of a hacker who has compromised the victim’s computer. Tax scams – the scammer pretends to be from the Australian Taxation Office and claims there is a warrant out for their victim’s arrest. “The scammers are very persistent once they have a victim hooked and will, for example, keep their victim on the phone while they’re in a store buying the gift cards. A gift card may be in physical or electronic form. There are never any circumstances where a legitimate business or government department will ask for payment this way.”. “It’s concerning that the scammers are now demanding payment in other forms of gift cards. “In close consultation with the ACCC and government, we have developed a number of measures to reduce the risk of gift card scams impacting our customers,” a … Gift cards need to have a minimum life of three years before expiry and have the expiry date clearly stated. Therefore, you must comply with gift card … “Businesses must act in accordance with the terms and conditions attached to gift cards at the time of purchase,” an ACCC spokesperson said in an email to Gizmodo Australia. And there's sure to be plenty of gift cards bought before 25 December for that quick and easy Christmas present – in fact, Australians spend up to $2.5bn on gift cards … Regardless of the reason for payment, the scam follows a certain formula: The victim receives a call instilling panic and urgency to make a payment by purchasing App Store & iTunes Gift Cards or Apple Store Gift Cards from the nearest retailer (convenience store, electronics retailer, etc.). As a result, if you are a business owner, you can make this period longer or choose not to impose an expiry date at all. Doubtful. The ACL now requires most gift cards and vouchers to have a mandatory minimum expiry period of three years from the date that the gift card is sold to a consumer. Scamwatch reports show more than $5 million was lost in 2018, a 38 per cent increase compared with 2017. iTunes cards accounted for $3.1 million in losses – a 156 per cent increase from the $1.23 million reported in 2017. The ACCC expects all businesses to honour and extend gift card expiry dates to cover any period that the card was unable to be used due to the business's closure. eGift Cards. The email, which is sent from WoolworthsSurvey, says it is giving out “a limited number of Woolworths Gift Cards”. The email, which is sent from WoolworthsSurvey, tells the recipient it is pleased to announce Woolies is sending a number of gift cards. In readiness for the changes, businesses should: 1. update gift card terms and conditions on their website and other promotional material, including on physical gift cards 2. update internal systems, training and compliance manuals 3. place signage on gift card displays and at the point of sale 4. make note of the changes on a… Don’t ever believe the scammer’s lies, no matter how convincing they sound—hang up on their calls and delete their emails immediately.”. Whirlpool. The ACCC is warning the public to be alert to scams offering fake gift cards or vouchers in return for disclosing credit card and other personal information. Why the dis. Media Team - 1300 138 917, media@accc.gov.au, Payment demanded by gift card? A gift card, also known as a gift voucher, is usually loaded with an amount of money that enables the recipient to exchange it for goods or services to the value of the amount on the card. If your business sells gift vouchers, you need to ensure that your practices are legally compliant. Call the company that issued the gift card and tell them the gift card was used in a scam. “It’s clear the scammers are diversifying their payments to try get around these warnings, so it’s vital people are aware that no legitimate company or government agency will ever ask you to make a payment with any sort of gift card,” Ms Rickard said. According to the ACCC, gift card holders may become ‘unsecured creditors’ during administrations if they have not redeemed their card’s value. “If anyone asks for payment using a gift card, it is a scam, simple as that,” Ms Rickard said.

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