A.P. scam warning

[twyngwyn]

Australia Post scam warning issued after notification slip scrapped: ‘Do not trust this text’ (yahoo...

[countessalmirena]

The statistics on being scammed more than once (1 in 3 are rescanned) are alarming. 

The move to SMS notifications / app notifications from AP makes sense in many ways, but the potential for being scammed is high for people who are perhaps less tech-savvy, or who are in a hurry…

[cam-2793]

It's also really annoying for those of us that don't have ( or want!)  a smart phone because there is a link in genuine SMS from Oz post and couriers with the details and my dumb phone can't do anything with that.

Also the scam texts often look very like the genuine ones and we are often told "don't click on links in suspicious texts" which is hard when you can't tell genuine from suspect. 

I'm a bit of a neo Luddite and really resent the push for everything online, by subscription, cashless etc.

[sugar249]

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@countessalmirena wrote:

The statistics on being scammed more than once (1 in 3 are rescanned) are alarming. 

The move to SMS notifications / app notifications from AP makes sense in many ways, but the potential for being scammed is high for people who are perhaps less tech-savvy, or who are in a hurry…

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Come on, stop making excuses for them.  There is no excuse for stupidity,  why would you give anyone sending you a text personal information.

[springyzone]

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@cam-2793 wrote:

It's also really annoying for those of us that don't have ( or want!)  a smart phone because there is a link in genuine SMS from Oz post and couriers with the details and my dumb phone can't do anything with that.

Also the scam texts often look very like the genuine ones and we are often told "don't click on links in suspicious texts" which is hard when you can't tell genuine from suspect. 

I'm a bit of a neo Luddite and really resent the push for everything online, by subscription, cashless etc.

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I am with you on that. I wouldn't mind quite so much if places didn't rely so much on OUR devices. I well remember check in at the airport earlier this year. My daughter had everything on her phone and there was no help anywhere. She had to use that phone even to get suitcases weighed etc

Once upon a time, there used to be machines to log into at airports but people to help if you struck a problem but they were few and far between the day we were there. I didn't see any.

Likewise getting into venues, concerts.

It's all very well if you have the latest phone but what if you don't or your phone is on the blink.

[sandypebbles]

They are rather slow

I have been getting those carp texts for months 

Fake as the day is long

[countessalmirena]

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@sugar249 wrote:

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@countessalmirena wrote:

The statistics on being scammed more than once (1 in 3 are rescanned) are alarming. 

The move to SMS notifications / app notifications from AP makes sense in many ways, but the potential for being scammed is high for people who are perhaps less tech-savvy, or who are in a hurry…

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Come on, stop making excuses for them.  There is no excuse for stupidity,  why would you give anyone sending you a text personal information.

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Scams are designed to come up on our blind side and they are definitely purposed to take advantage of vulnerable people. Vulnerability comes in many forms.

I could be impatient with people who are scammed (in some cases more than once) but what does that achieve? It doesn’t solve the problem.

Something that may help (and I’ve seen some instances of its working) is to avoid telling potential victims simply and only what not to do, in favour of telling them what to do instead. They must be clear easy-to-follow instructions… and practice scenarios are needed. I’m not sure it works for everyone, though.

[domino-710]

Not exactly sure how peeps get scammed with this one.

Expecting a parcel - get an sms it's unable to be delivered - we all know it gets taken to the local PO.

Why answer the text at all - pop down to the PO.

Not expecting a parcel - why answer the text. ??

[countessalmirena]

Perhaps because of all the hype about AP changing the way that they notify people of missed deliveries… That creates a natural opportunity for the fake AP text messages. I don’t doubt that some people will be fooled. Some will think “Oh, I remember hearing that AP have changed how they notify us…” and before you know it, they’ve clicked.

Uncertainty is a scammer’s natural habitat. People will be scammed.

They shouldn’t be but … they will be.

[domino-710]

Secondly - why would you give personal info to a text.

You are asked for ID at the PO anyway.

A message from AP is not something that needs answering.