Key Resources

"If It Looks Too Good To Be True It Probably Is"

Received a letter telling you you've won a prize in an overseas lottery you don't remember entering (just need to pay a fee to release the money)?  Got an email offering a share in an illicitly acquired fortune if you allow it to pass through your bank account (just send all your bank account details)?  Anxious to help a dying child by forwarding an email (though next day you get the same emailed story with a different child's name)?  The following links and books will help you identify and avoid the most common scams, swindles, frauds and hoaxes.

Want a quick tour of the best sites for identifying scams, swindles, frauds and hoaxes? Check out our recent powerpoint presentation!

Major References

The Little Black Book of Scams - a Consumers Guide to Scams, Swindles, Rorts and Rip-Offs
A joint Commonwealth, State and Territory publication.

Scams and Swindlers - Investment Disasters and How to Avoid them - True Stories from ASIC / by Bruce Brown
True stories of and how to avoid commercial crimes and fraud in Australia.

Other Information Resources

Government

FIDO
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission consumer website provides in-depth information about common scams and swindles including warnings about: Investment seminars, Cold calling and phone scams, Scams and swindlers, including the famous Nigerian letter scams.

WA ScamNET
WA Department of Consumer Protection scam information site. Read through the Complete Listing of Scams for details of current and past scams. They are also publishers of the Little Black Book of Scams.

SCAMWatch
Prepared by the Australian Government in collaboration with fair trading and consumer protection agencies across Australia.

Examples of Known Phoney Securities
US Treasury site identifying (with images) known phoney US securities.

Consumer Protection Law
Further information is available from this page in our Law Information Gateway.

Net Links

Google Directory Fraud Site Listings
Google directory list of many sites providing information on frauds and scams.

Mailfrontier Field Guide to Phishing
Clear, concise explanations of sneaky, dangerous phish (fradulent emails that endeavour to get you to part with passwords and banking details) that may find their way to your computer.

Inboxer Rebellion
A great site for identifying email scams, frauds and hoaxes, part of the excellent Urban Legends reference pages.

"Wealth Seminar Spruikers 'Back Selling schemes' "
Transcript of a 7:30 Report story about wealth seminars (18th February 2004).

Jenman Ethics in Real Estate
Warnings and articles by real estate educator and consumer advocate Neil Jenman.