A group of 30 local men are the latest victims in an elaborate cyber scam, collectively losing over $100,000.
Refugees and migrants who make up some of the local Tamil community were recently
sucked into the ‘Hope Business’ scam, which invited them to invest money via an app that
was promoted on Facebook in the Tamil language.
At first, those who invested in the app were paid some small dividends to gain their trust, encouraging them to tell their friends and invest more.
One Pendle Hill man invested $17,000 and others borrowed money to invest as much as
they could, but then the app went silent.
Unable to navigate systems due to language barriers, the men reached out to Durga Owen, a member of the Tamil community and community worker.
“It looked completely legit, it had an ABN and everything,” she said.
“We went to the police who took weeks to start interviewing people, a lot of the banks
had no procedures in place and the ACCC also was no help and was only for reporting
purposes.
“These are low wage earning men and the man who invested the most has been incredibly depressed to the point of wanting to end his life. There needs to be a phone number, someone to actually speak to so interpreters can be offered and victims can be assisted.”
According to the ACCC, scammers stole $34 million from Australia’s CALD communities in 2020 alone.
Federal Parramatta MP Julie Owens is joining a movement by the Labor Party to lobby the Morrison Government to stop the epidemic of scams hammering Australians’ phones, emails and social media accounts.
Leader of the Opposition Anthony Albanese has committed to establishing a National Anti-Scam Centre, doubling funding for victim support groups, using National Cabinet to streamline recovery of Government ID forms, tasking a Minister with direct portfolio responsibility for fighting scams online and reviewing criminal penalties for online fraud.
Last year the Federal Government announced Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020, which will invest $1.67 billion over 10 years and focus on mitigation, research, intelligence and awareness campaigns.
But it’s not just individuals who are at risk.
Greater Cumberland Chamber of Commerce President Immanuel Selvaraj said more needs to be done to educate business owners on how to protect themselves.
“In today’s world small and medium size owners who are operating in a non-IT environment are ignorant to what’s happening in the IT world and it makes them vulnerable to cyber security breaches,” he said.
“62 per cent of small and medium businesses have been victims of a data breach and just one attack can take away years of work.”
The Chamber is hosting a Digital Education series to better equip small and medium businesses to protect and leverage themselves.
This month’s meeting featured a talk from cyber security firm, Cyber CX.
For more information about upcoming meetings, visit merrylandschamberofcommerce.com.au.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.