PayID Scam
Attention Australians using marketplaces to sell their used or unwanted items online: There is a PayID scam targeting you. This fraud involves impersonation and fraudulent communication regarding PayID, which is an easy and fast payment method that uses phone, email, or ABN.
NAB reports that this scam has increased the number of fraud cases, aligning with a 38% rise in total fraud reports over the past year. Chris Sheehan from NAB Executive Group Investigations and Fraud stresses how it is essential to be cautious of such scams. Never should anyone pay money to upgrade or access PayID services, nor should users fall for direct messages, emails, or texts purporting to be from PayID.
There are certain gimmicks by which a scam can be recognised: scammers will offer to purchase your item via PayID and then refuse when you do not have a “business” account. However, they may suggest an account upgrade, giving proof of a fake email to pressure you for reimbursement, but no money will ever come into your account.
Note: You don’t need to send money to receive payments through PayID, and no extra account upgrades are required. Your bank handles this payment system. Hence, you will never get any direct communication from the company.
Scamwatch reported that last year, Australians lost $260,000 to PayID impersonating scams. If you think that you have been defrauded, immediately call your bank for help. Users online mention that this does not always lead to a refund, but it would be better to try. Although efforts would be made towards deterring such scams and recovering funds taken away from customers’ accounts, it becomes difficult to get back lost amounts of ones they leave your accounts. Be careful and guard yourself against cyber criminals who want to exploit the relatively unknown aspect of the new payment platform called PayID.
Alexis has long been collaborating with various international media outlets related to the iGaming sector. Thanks to her deep knowledge in the field of finance, she knows practically everything about payment processing in online casinos and is happy to share this with others.
