Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce (ACFT)
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Consumer scams are crimes of dishonesty such as forgery, counterfeiting, on-line deception, and theft that are targeted at people who seek to purchase goods and services. Potential victims can be those who use fixed line or mobile phones, computers and the internet, older people, and those who use professional advisers.
As part of a whole-of-Government approach to combat consumer fraud and scams targeted at consumers, the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce was established in March 2005 and comprises all of the governmental regulatory agencies and departments in Australia and New Zealand who have responsibilities for consumer protection.
The Australian Government has joined forces with these agencies to raise awareness about scams and fraud prevention. The four-week campaign is being launched by the Taskforce to help people protect themselves from scams. The overall theme for the four weeks of the campaign is "SCAMS TARGET YOU - Protect Yourself".
Agencies and departments participating in the Taskforce are:
Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department; Australian Bureau of Statistics; Australian Communications and Media Authority; Australian Competition & Consumer Commission; Australian Federal Police (represented by the Australian High Tech Crime Centre); Australian Institute of Criminology; Australian Securities & Investment Commission; and the Department of Communications, Information Technology & the Arts.
New Zealand Government: NZ Commerce Commission; Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
State and Territory Governments: All State and Territory Police jurisdictions; Australian Capital Territory – Office of Fair Trading; Consumer Affairs Victoria; New South Wales – Office of Fair Trading; Consumer Affairs Northern Territory; Queensland – Department of Tourism, Fair Trading and Wine Industry Development; South Australia – Office of Consumer & Business Affairs; Tasmania – Office of Consumer Affairs & Fair Trading; Western Australia – Department of Consumer & Employment Protection.
Taskforce partners
Taskforce members are joined in communicating with Australian consumers about scams by a range of community, non-Government and private sector organisations. Visit http://www.scamwatch.gov.au for a list of Taskforce partners.
Consumers who think they've spotted a scam can check the SCAMwatch website at www.scamwatch.gov.au which has detailed information about scams, or report a scam on 1300 795 995.
