Media Release
Slogan aimed at tapping people power to battle consumer fraud led by a collaborative front –
Western Union, Olympian Giaan Rooney, NSW Fair Trading and Internet Fraud Watchdog
Sydney, Australia, 5 December, 2012 – Australian consumers are being urged to protect themselves against fraud by applying a 3-step process to kick-in sharper awareness and scepticism when considering any financial transaction that involves a stranger or unusual circumstances.
Australians are being asked to BE Vigilant, Verify and BE Vocal (the three V’s) when they come across any offer that they cannot ignore in a newly launched shared responsibility campaign titled the “many faces of fraud.” It is spearheaded by global payments leader Western Union in collaboration with Olympian Giaan Rooney, NSW Fair Trading and Ken Gamble, Executive Chairman of the independent group – Internet Fraud Watchdog. The three-step process asks Australians to:
- BE Vigilant: Examine the offer. Anything out of the ordinary is a red flag.
- Verify: If an offer is too good to ignore; check with another, it helps the rational part of the brain activate and assess authenticity.
- BE Vocal: Report a suspicious offer to local Police or the respective financial institution hotlines – prevention is mightier than seeking redress
The objective of the three V’s is to tap into community reasoning power to battle consumer fraud well before the decision to write a cheque, transfer from an account or send a money transfer.
Australians are also being asked to look out for family and friends and share the three V’s message proactively – as the many faces of fraud impacts across the whole community. The campaign was launched today inSydneyin the lead up to the holiday season to protect Australians when they are most active online buying gifts for loved ones.
“Western Union’s Money Transfer Services are a great way to send money quickly and conveniently, but it’s not intended for use when doing business with a stranger,” said Jacqueline Wardhaugh, Head of Compliance, Western Union, Oceania.
“As a global leader in money transfers – last year we moved money more than 20 times per second across the globe[i]. Our consumers send money for a range of general reasons – including sending regular financial support to family members, sending cash for gifting, for travel and international education as well as business payments.
“Con artists, scammers, fraudsters use good people and good financial institutions to steal money. We want to prevent fraud before a consumer sends a money transfer.
“Fraud is an industry-wide issue and its prevention is a shared responsibility among law enforcement, consumers and the corporate community and hence our commitment to spearhead a collaborative approach to deliver a strong message to the Australian community,” she said.
“Fraud transcends the whole of the community – I am speaking today to warn Australians that no one is immune, it cuts across all Australians immaterial of age and status,” said Olympian Giaan Rooney.
“You often fall into the trap of thinking – “this will never happen to me” and it is something that happens to only certain members of the community. Regardless of who they are and where the live it could happen to anyone. It happened to me earlier this year, when I was the victim of identity theft.
“I call out to all Australians to look out for family and friends – proactively talk about the risk and incidence and ask them to apply the three V’s to protect themselves and their loved ones,” said Ms Rooney.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (The Personal Fraud Survey for 2010-11), in 2010 and 2011, more than 1.2 million Australians reported being victimized either by scams, credit card fraud and identity theft, with losses totaling $1.4 billion.
The most common scams in Australia are Family Emergency, Mystery shopping , Overpayment, Business Opportunity, “Work-at-Home” Employment, Lottery/Prize Scam, Internet Purchase, Rental Property/investment, Fake Check and Dating & Relationship according to Australia’s Internet Fraud Watchdog.
“NSW Fair Trading issues regular warnings urging consumers to be vigilant and on the lookout for scams and to approach any cold caller with a healthy dose of cynicism. Fair Trading supports the ’Many Faces of Fraud’ campaign aimed at better educating and empowering consumers to identify instances of fraud and to take action by notifying the Police or relevant authorities,” said Robert Vellar, Assistant Commissioner, NSW Fair Trading
“A challenge for law enforcement is that not everyone who receives a suspicious offer or becomes a victim of fraud reports it,” said Mr. Ken Gamble, Executive Chair, Internet Fraud Watchdog.
“While it’s understandable that victims of fraud may feel humiliated and embarrassed to speak about their loss and experience; this campaign is about asking Australia to practice the three V’s process that will see them not only being vigilant and verifying the offer but also taking it one step further and being vocal about it.
“Consumers who are aware and sceptical are less likely to enter into fraudulent transactions, and this is truly half the battle won. As a result, we will have a situation that is much less demanding of valuable resources, particularly law enforcement.
”The more information that we can get out there about scams and the more awareness we can build to educate people the more we hope to be able to stop people becoming victims of fraud in the first place,” he said.
About Western Union westernunion.com
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of September 30, 2012, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of approximately 510,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories. In 2011, The Western Union Company completed 226 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $81 billion of principal between consumers, and 425 million business payments.
[i]As of 31 December, 2011, Western Union completed 226 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, between consumers, and 425 million business payments
