We often hear the terms ‘fraud’ and ‘scam’ in the news and elsewhere and, often, the two are used interchangeably.
Both have the same intent—to dishonestly access your super or other funds, and your personal information.
However, fraud and scams aren’t quite the same—unique characteristics set them apart. Read on to learn more about the difference between fraud and scams, and how you can keep yourself safe from criminals.
Fraud vs scams – what’s the difference?
The main difference between fraud and scams comes down to the victim’s level of participation.
Scams need your consent in giving bad actors your money or information—when you’re a participant in their scheme. They rely on you being involved, whereas fraud can happen without your awareness if a criminal has access to your personal information.
What is fraud and how can I identify it?
Fraud doesn’t require your presence or consent, so it can be difficult to spot until it’s already happening. If your sensitive information is available to fraudsters, they may attempt to update details on your UniSuper account or start a new account elsewhere without you knowing.
Fraud in action: a real-life scenario
You receive an SMS from us advising that a withdrawal has been requested on your account. You didn’t authorise the request and realise that your email account has been compromised—it contained sensitive information like ID documents. Fraudsters submit a withdrawal request, using this documentation to verify your identity.
Protect your account
We’ll send you an email and SMS whenever certain changes happen to your account, so it’s important to keep your contact details with us and other financial institutions up to date and change your passwords regularly. We also send you regular statements detailing all transactions on your account, which you should review as you receive them—contact us if you see anything suspicious. You can help keep your super safe by letting us know about any cyber events in which your personal information was compromised.
What’s a scam and how can I identify it?
Scammers create a sense of urgency to encourage you to act quickly—sometimes pretending to be from legitimate organisations, making plays on your emotions or, conversely, threatening you.
Scams in action: a real-life scenario
You receive an unexpected phone call recommending a unique investment opportunity, which promises excellent short-term returns. The caller says you need to urgently provide funds to participate. The amount needed is more than most people would have easy access to without applying for a loan or withdrawing super.
Protect your account
Scams are often too good to be true—they’re enticing by design. Remember, you can always hang up, do further research or call the organisation the scammer claims to represent if you’re not sure the offer is coming from a genuine source.
Common scams
Investment and cryptocurrency
After they have your trust, scammers may tell you about an investment opportunity, often in cryptocurrency or investments that require you to send funds overseas. Scammers may ask for a contribution to provide you with a larger payout, such as property fees for the inheritance of a fictional building, and will typically emphasise urgency for fear of missing out. In most cases, the scammers will feed you false information – often via fake but legitimate-looking platforms – to make you believe your investment is increasing. They’ll then attempt to persuade you to contribute more before fleeing with your funds.
Phishing
SMS or email scams are among the most common. Scammers may claim to represent the government, a business you deal with or friends and family to create urgency. These messages will often encourage you to act quickly and could make you feel as though you have less time to think things through. They’ll usually include a link to a fraudulent website or attempt to trick you into inadvertently downloading malware or spyware to your device. The scammers will then access any personal information they can and use it to attempt to steal funds or impersonate you while they commit other malicious acts.
Impersonation
Scammers will almost always claim to be someone they’re not, frequently acting as a financial institution, a friend or family member. They’ll commonly try to convince you to provide them with your personal details, ask for funds due to a personal emergency or try to persuade you to transfer funds to a new account for ‘safekeeping’. Depending on the level of sophistication, these messages can appear to come from the same phone numbers or email addresses legitimate organisations use and can even appear in the same conversation threads as legitimate messages received from the same group.
Romance
Some scammers will approach you under the guise of seeking friendship, dating or romance. Typically, the interactions begin on social media before pushing to move the conversation to a free platform like Google Hangouts or WhatsApp. They’ll generally try to build an emotional connection before encouraging you to make money through cryptocurrency or telling you they have an emergency for which they urgently need funds. They may ask you to keep the details secret from your family or friends. These scammers will often indicate a desire to meet in person but always come up with a last-minute excuse why they can’t make it, like a family emergency or a cancelled flight.
Self-managed super fund (SMSF)
Scammers will often claim to come from a financial organisation like a bank, super fund like UniSuper or financial adviser. In some cases, they’ll recommend that you transfer your super into an SMSF or will take advantage of personal information they’ve received to fraudulently set up an account in your name and consolidate your funds without your knowledge. Scammers can then withdraw your super into an account controlled by them.
Find out more
We’re committed to keeping your money and sensitive information safe. Head to the Protect your account page to learn more about staying safe online.