Queensland flood scammer has ... a heavy accent

Daily Telegraph 18 Jan 2010 (no link)
A Queensland MP [Chris Foley] is warning constituents against a "scammer" who has been phoning flood-affected areas, claiming to be from the Australian Taxation Office ...

"a man with a heavy accent who has been phoning flood-affected areas, claiming to be collecting for flood relief. The number he is using to make these calls is (02) 8003 7513. He will tell you mumbo-jumbo about how you will get heaps of money in return. Please warn your elderly friends and family and anyone else you know NOT to give any details" ...

However, the ATO couldn't find the number in its database and has reported it to the ACCC and police ...
When a politician uses a vague descriptor, you can bet your lunch money it's not a heavy Scottish or Irish accent, but something more foreign.

Tory Shepherd, In the wake of disaster, scammers strike
Extreme situations bring out extreme behaviour...

You name the crisis, there will be unscrupulous individuals sneaking in to take advantage.

It’s so predictable that SCAMwatch warned in advance that it might happen, based on similar outrages during the 2009 Victorian bushfires.
She makes it sound like a universal problem. Bad people everywhere. What can ya do?

To some extent it's true, there are bad people everywhere. But if you did an ethnic profile of the rorts involving foreign students, pink batts, green loans, identity theft, and the floods, would you really find it so universal? I doubt it.

File under: journalists for inglorious projections.

No comments:

Post a Comment