The social media scam conning Australians out of their savings in seconds: ‘I thought it was safe’
Australians looking to make some extra cash selling unwanted or used items online are being urged to watch out for a new scam. The new PayID impersonation scam is targeting people selling their goods on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and other online websites. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Red flags to watch out for when avoiding phone and social media scams. The scammers respond to online ads, posing as prospective buyers. After offering to pay using PayID, the scammers trick sellers into transferring cash to activate or upgrade their account. Amber lost $500 to the scam when she advertised a secondhand bed online. The scammer seemed like a genuine buyer, she said, and before she knew it she’d lost a chunk of her savings . “I kept thinking I’ve gone through Commonwealth Bank to set it up, it should be safe,” Amber said. Australians lost $260,000 to PayID impersonation scams last year, according to Scamwatch. A new PayID scam is catching Australians trying to sell items online unaware. Cred...