Indian migrant loses thousands to online identity theft

In 2016 alone, Australians online were defrauded over $530 million, raising questions of what can be done to stop it.

Perth-based Aman Bhangoo has lost more than $3000 to fraudulent transactions occurred through his credit card. Source: Supplied

While most of us today use credit cards to make our daily purchases but credit card fraud is an issue on the minds of many users.

A report by the self-regulatory body, the Australian Payments Network, shows that 78 percent of card fraud in Australia occurs online. It says fraud rose by 13 percent last year.

In yet another case of online fraud, Perth-based Aman Bhangoo has lost more than $3500 through unauthorised credit card transactions.

Speaking to SBS Punjabi, Mr Bhangoo urged everyone to be careful and cautious.

"Please be vigilant and check your credit card statements regularly. If anything like this ever happens to you, contact your bank immediately to block your cards," said Mr Bhangoo.

"It is my civic duty to make other people aware and alert."

“I am glad that bank has reimbursed some of the amount that was siphoned through my credit card.

“The fraudsters first used my credit card for small transactions and then suddenly an amount of $2400 was used to purchase an item. The transactions were made from USA.

“I feel so harassed and stressed by this. They hacked my email account and phone as well.

Aman Bhangoo has urged everyone to be vigilant and alert. 

"People should avoid setting generic passwords for online accounts. Make it complex and never ever use your date of birth to set a password," says Mr Bhangoo. 

“Never trust any ‘fishy’ company for online purchases. Who knows if they sell your credit card details to fraudsters? Or the company’s database may not be secure enough to stop the cyber-attacks!

“I was so stressed about the identity theft that I had to check all other possibilities for potential pitfalls.

“Like I did, people can also use services from Equifax to access their credit history. It will also reveal if any loans have been applied on your name.

“I am lucky that I did not lose too much, otherwise it could have been nasty given the nature of this fraud.”

Residents are urged to report any scams of this nature to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) at www.acorn.gov.au.

The Federal government also provides a website which offers proactive advice for people who have been the victim of a scam www.scamwatch.gov.au

Anyone with information about the scam is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.

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