Staying Safe from Increasing Online Scams and Fraud

22 August, 2023

Following ongoing increases in sophisticated online scams targeting businesses as well as individuals, NSW Aboriginal Land Council would like to raise awareness of the importance of cyber security in our communities.

Keeping up with current threats, being cautious online, and blocking malicious or unwanted messages if they reach you, are good ways to protect yourself from online threats.

Here are some ways to protect yourself and your LALC.

If a business you usually deal with has changed its ABN or any other information including its email, call the business directly first, to confirm the changes.
Confirm business bank account details before paying any invoices.
Don’t provide sensitive personal or banking information (like usernames and passwords) over email.
Don’t click on links in emails or messages, or open attachments from people or organisations you don’t know.

If you’re not sure, discuss the suspicious message or email with a colleague, friend or family member before doing anything.
You can always check a message or email’s legitimacy by contacting the relevant business or organisation, using contact details sourced from the official company website.
Be especially cautious if messages are very enticing, seem too good to be true, or pressure you to take a suggested action.
Use a spam filter to block deceptive messages.
Understand that your financial institution and other large organisations (such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, PayPal and others) will never send you a link or ask you to enter your personal or financial details.

This list does not cover all circumstances and we encourage a review of your Local Aboriginal Land Council’s cyber security practices, anti-virus software and internal records management systems.

Here are some safe online resources with more information and support.

Australian Cyber Security Centre, Australian Government

First Nations business resources including informational videos.
https://www.cyber.gov.au/firstnationsresources

General security resources including guides for small businesses

https://www.cyber.gov.au/learn/resources-library

Scamwatch, Australian Government

How to report scams, how scammers impersonate legitimate businesses and more.

https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/

The site provides extensive resources including “The Little Black Book of Scams”

https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/research-and-resources/the-little-black-book-of-scams

Service NSW, NSW Government

Reporting scams or identity theft and what to do next.