StandOver Tactics !

The usual Internet scammers have long used phone calls supposedly from the tax department to scare people into paying imaginary tax bills.   You get a surprise phone call and someone who identifies as being from a government department explains that there has been an error in your tax return - and you owe the government a nominated sum of money.    The tone of the callers voice then usually becomes very demanding and all sorts of unpleasant outcomes are threatened - unless this bill is paid immediately.

A variety of methods are used to gain the money, all of which are quickly discontinued immediately after use and which defy searches if the police are alerted.   This scam has netted hundreds of thousands of dollars from honest people who have been stampeded into paying money they do not owe

Wise people simply hangup the phone because they know the tax department serves notice of any tax matter via the mail and never demands money over the phone, but the elderly and those not schooled in business practice are susceptible to shock tactics and  often fall victim to this sort of crime.

The scammers are ever refining their methods and now they are specifically targeting migrants new to this country and those migrants in the process of sponsoring family members to join them in Australia - and it seems obvious that they have done considerable research in selecting their victims.

In particular, they are approaching migrants recently from India with a story that  a major error has been discovered in the paperwork that authorised their arrival and often the threat of deportation is used unless a newly discovered bill owing is paid - immediately.

This approach relies heavily on the custom in India of bribe paying to get any sort of paperwork expedited.  A new arrival presented with such a situation could expect that to be normal custom here.  The scammers wisely do not claim a ridiculous amount of money and the usual demand is for about $ 2,600.

The approach to those expecting the arrival of a family member is different.    It is claimed that this person has been arrested and will be instantly deported unless money to settle whatever claim is causing the problem is instantly settled.    It is designed to cause panic in the receiving family and is often successful.

It now seems that the scammers are gathering background information on selected Indian target families and many victims have been surprised at the degree of knowledge used in the approach.  It is quite possible that some of the scammers come from an Indian background and circulate freely in the Australian Indian community, but it is also likely that they are avid users of Facebook and other social media.

The fact that this approach is getting wide media attention will certainly make the Indian community here cautious and most likely the scammers will drop the scheme and retool their approach to target a different ethnic group.

The best defence is the sure and certain knowledge that - in this country - no legitimate arm of government ever asks for money over the phone !   Simply - hang up !