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How To Avoid Scams

We all know, or have heard about, someone being scammed.  Whilst we may think to ourselves – fancy falling for that – the reality is that modern technology provides scammers with many ways to create fake documents, IDs, and such that are identical to genuine ones.  This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to spot them.  Therefore, the best way to avoid scams is by familiarising yourself with the ways in which scammers typically work, the types of scams they perpetrate, and establishing some blanket ground rules to protect yourself.

Common Types Of Scams

  • Remote Access Scams and Ransomware – scammers try to get remote access to your devices usually by getting you to, knowingly or unknowingly, download a piece of malware to your device. The malware may either get your personal and financial information or lock your files and computer, preventing you from accessing them until you pay the scammer.
  • Phishing – scammers try to trick you into giving them personal information like account information, credit card numbers and so on
  • Identity theft – scammers steal your identity and use it for financial or personal gain (a lot of this information is inadvertently provided through social media!)
  • Buying and Selling – scammers pose as a buyer or seller to steal products you’re selling or scam money from you
  • Job Scams – when you’re asked to pay money upfront to find or get a ‘job’.
  • Investment Scams – scammers will try to get you to invest in a ‘high return’ investment scheme
  • Romance Scams – scammers use dating sites to try and establish relationships with people to get money out of them, get access to their personal information, or to get them to transport items or money for them ·
  • Threat & Penalty Scams – the use of threats to get money or personal information out of you i.e. you are in imminent danger of being arrested / hurt if you don’t pay up.
  • Tax / Government Scams – scammers pose as tax or other government officials in order to threaten legal action, arrest, etc if you don’t provide personal details, money etc.

Avoid Remote Access Scams And Ransomware: Hang Up On Computer ‘Fixer Upperers’

This is a favourite with scammers.  They contact you to tell you that your computer has a virus, needs a software upgrade, or has something wrong with it that needs fixing immediately or it will self-implode!  They say they’re from Microsoft, or Apple, or a legitimate sounding computer service, and need to access your computer to fix the problem.  Hang up on them.  They are after your personal details, or want to disable your computer.  Legitimate computer companies don’t do business this way.

Delete Suspicious Looking Messages Without Opening Them

Delete suspect texts, emails, and pop-up windows.  If you are unsure of their authenticity, use an independent source to confirm their identity.  Never use any contact information provided in the message or email.

Avoid Phishing Scams: Never Provide Personal Or Log In Details Via Emails Or Text Messages

Legitimate banks and other financial institutions will never send you a text message or an email requesting your account login details or to click a login link.  If you receive any emails or text messages that ask you to do this, avoid opening them and delete straight away.  NEVER click on any links.

If you think such an email might be legitimate, and it purports to be from your bank or an institution you do have dealings with, ring them and ask.  Make sure you look up their phone number though – don’t use any contact information contained in the text or email as it is guaranteed to be fake as well.

Check any profile photos with Google Image.

Keep Your PIN And Credit Card Safe

Never give out your PIN to anyone.  Never give out your credit card information or log in details to anyone you don’t implicitly trust.

Password Protect Everything

Secure your mobile devices and computers with passwords.  Keep security and virus software updated.  Back up your data.  Password-protect your WiFi, and don’t use WiFi hotspots or public computers to provide personal information or access your bank accounts.

Don’t Make It Easy For Scammers To Crack Your Passwords

Scammers know a lot about how people come up with passwords.  Don’t make it easy for them to figure out yours.  Google usually offers to create your passwords for you, and saves them so you don’t have to remember them.  Whilst this is a great tool, it’s only as safe as the security on your devices!

Then again, if you always get Google to save your passwords, they’re all only as safe as your devices’ security, computer generated or not.  Therefore, consider using an easily remembered password to access things like your bank accounts, MyGov account etc, and NEVER let Google store it for you.  Also always use a different password for each account or profile.

Don’t Transfer Anything Online To People Or Businesses You Don’t Know

This includes money, personal information, bankcard and bank details, and copies of personal documents.

Don’t agree to act as a go-between and transfer goods or money on behalf of others.  It may be a money-laundering scheme.  You may for example receive an email from someone who has an ‘inheritance’ and they’re prepared to give some of it to you if you’ll allow them to use your bank account to transfer it.

Treat strange payment requests with suspicion.  If you can’t use regular online payment methods to pay for something, it’s probably a scam.  Apart from which, do you really want to do business with a business that makes it difficult for you to pay them?

Consider using something like a PayPal account as a go-between for online purchases.  That way you’re not supplying your card or banking information online, where it may get intercepted.  Of course, you will need to make sure your login information for that account is secure as well!

Hang onto all your receipts.  Yes, it’s a pain but they are invaluable for checking transactions on your account.  If you don’t recognise a transaction, report it to your bank.

Ask your bank what security products they offer to help protect their customers from scams.

Avoid Identity Theft: Keep Your (Physical) Mail Box Locked

Scammers and thieves do drive down streets looking for unsecured mailboxes.  At best, all they’ll do is pull your mail out and then ditch it when they don’t find anything of use to them.  At worst, they’ll steal your personal information, particularly if you still get hard copies of things like bank and credit card statements posted to you!  Arrange to receive e-statements instead.

Put a lock on your mailbox, or get a PO box, and shred any documents, including old envelopes, which have your personal details on them before throwing them out.  Better still – if you have a fireplace, burn them.

Adopt Safe Social Media Habits – Don’t Post Too Much Personal Information

Treat social media (and dating site) friend requests from people you don’t know with suspicion.  Check their profile and if it’s new, they don’t have many friends, or it doesn’t look legit, delete the request and block them.

Don’t provide a lot of personal information on social media sites – scammers can easily use it to commit identify theft.  Also, use the privacy and security settings on these platforms to protect yourself and your personal information.

Scammers and hackers also use information provided on social media sites to try and crack people’s passwords.  For instance, people often use the name of a favourite pet as a password, and then constantly mention said pet on social media….  Or they use their birth date, which is clearly visible on their profile.

Likewise, if you receive a message or a request from someone you do know, but it looks out of character or not quite right, contact the person via other means and see if it is from them.  Chances are their account has been hacked though, so delete it anyway just to be safe.

Avoid Buying And Selling Scams: Use A Reputable Payment Processing Platform With A Dispute Option

If you’re selling something online, make sure you receive your money before you post the item to the buyer.  If you’re buying, use PayPal or a similar payment-processing platform and if you don’t receive the goods, you can lodge a dispute to get your money back.

Avoid Job / Employment Scams: Use Legitimate Job Boards And Employment Agencies

Reputable job boards and employment agencies do not charge people to use their job search facilities, or to get work through them.  Sites that do charge are purely moneymaking schemes, and may or may not offer legitimate job or work opportunities.

Avoid Investment Scams: Do Your Due Diligence Before Committing To Anything

If you’re approached about investing in something that ‘sounds too good to be true’ it probably is.  Investigate the investment thoroughly and ONLY commit if it is 100% legal and above board.

Avoid Romance Scams: Double Check The Profiles Of Everyone Who Contacts You

If their profile doesn’t quite add up, or if you have any suspicions at all, ignore them and move on.

Avoid Threat & Penalty Scams: Ignore Them And Don’t Oblige

Legitimate law enforcement agencies do not contact people and threaten to arrest or hurt them if they don’t pay money or hand over personal information.  Therefore, if you get any emails, messages, or phone calls along these lines then, unless you belong to a gang of some sort, it’s a scam or a rogue cop.  Hang up, delete anything they send you, ignore or report them.

Avoid Tax / Government Scams: Ignore Them And Definitely Do Not Comply

Legitimate government agencies also do not contact people and threaten to arrest or hurt them if they don’t pay money or hand over personal information.  Hang up, delete anything they send you, ignore or report them.

The Bottom Line About Avoiding Scams

Legitimate businesses and government agencies have to follow specific and secure processes if they require information from you.  It’s also rare that 3rd parties will have access to personal information they can use to threaten you with.  Therefore, you can guarantee that any communication you receive asking for personal information, money, access to your computer, or that threatens or bullies you, is a scam!

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Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

1.1 Count Limited and its related bodies corporate (collectively ‘Count’, ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’) respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your privacy. We understand the importance you attach to information that identifies you (your ‘personal information’) and we want to help you protect it.

1.2 We are bound by, and committed to supporting, applicable privacy legislation including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). This Privacy Policy (‘Policy’) explains how we collect, hold, use, and disclose your personal information that we may obtain when you submit information to us in person, by mail or email, or by visiting our website.


2. How do we collect and hold personal information about you?

2.1 We collect personal information from you in a variety of methods. Examples of how we collect personal information include: 

  • Through communications between you and our representatives or your adviser or accountant;
  • Your use of our website;
  • Completing application forms in relation to products and services;
  • Other avenues, where required to meet regulatory requirements and comply with the law;
  • When you apply for employment with us;
  • Through marketing activities which request information from you, such as surveys.

2.2 Because our products and services are often offered by intermediaries such as financial planners, solicitors, or accountants, we may collect personal information about you from these third parties.

2.3 You can deal with us anonymously or by pseudonym unless it is impractical for us to deal with you where you have not identified yourself or have used a pseudonym. We require certain personal information to provide you with services and information. If you do not provide us with certain personal information, we may not be able to provide you with access to those services or respond to your request for information.

2.4 We will only collect personal information from you where it is reasonably necessary for us to provide our services to you or to perform our functions or activities.

2.5 We will only collect sensitive information from you with your consent, except in permitted general situations which include:

  • The collection of the information is required or authorised by or under an Australian law or a court/tribunal order;
  • The collection is necessary to address a threat to an individual’s life, health, or safety; and
  • Permitted health situations.

2.6 We may hold your information electronically or physically and have in place appropriate data and physical security measures and protocols to protect that information from loss or from disclosure not contemplated by this Policy.


3. What type of personal information do we collect?

3.1 The type of personal information we may collect from you includes (but is not limited to):

  • Names, address, email, phone numbers, and job titles;
  • Information in identification documents such as your passport or driver’s licence;
  • Tax file numbers (TFNs) and other identification numbers such as Medicare number;
  • Date of birth and gender;
  • Financial information;
  • Details of superannuation and insurance arrangements;
  • Sensitive information (with your consent), such as health information or membership details of professional or trade associations or political parties;
  • Bank account details, shareholdings, and details of investments;
  • Educational qualifications, employment history, and salary;
  • Visa or work permit status;
  • Personal information about your spouse and dependants.


4. How do we use your personal information?

4.1 We will use the information you supply for the purpose of providing you with the service(s) agreed under our engagement and related services, such as accounting or business advisory services, or to meet obligations we may have at law, including in relation to health and safety.

4.2 We may also use the information we collect for our internal business and management processes (for example, accounting or auditing purposes), monitoring and improving our website, keeping you informed about our services and company news, and for any other purposes that would be reasonably expected by you and to allow us to comply with our obligations under the law.

4.3 We may also use personal information we have collected from you for the purpose of marketing our services. If you do not want to receive marketing material from us, you can unsubscribe by contacting us as detailed below:

  • For electronic communications, you can click on the unsubscribe function in the communication;
  • For hard copy communications, you can email us using the details in the ‘How to contact us’ section of our website informing us that you wish to unsubscribe http://www.count.au/Contact-Us.


5. How do we disclose your personal information?

5.1 Your personal information will only be disclosed:

  • To our employees, contractors, consultants, dealers, agents, or advisors as required to provide our services to you or for related purposes;
  • To suppliers and service providers (for example, accounting or auditing service providers or our website hosting service providers) in connection with our provision of services to you;
  • Where you have consented to the disclosure;
  • Where required or authorised to do so under an Australian law, court or tribunal order, or other governmental or regulatory body or agency;
  • In permitted health situations;
  • If we believe that the use or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary for enforcement-related activities conducted by, or on behalf of, an enforcement body; or
  • In connection with an actual or proposed sale, reorganisation, or transfer of all or part of our business, including as set out in clause 16.1.

5.2 We may use, store, process, or back-up your personal information on servers that are located overseas (including through third-party service providers). The privacy laws in other countries might not be the same as in Australia. However, where we provide your personal information to third parties overseas, we will take such steps as are reasonable to ensure that your information is handled and stored in accordance with Australian privacy laws and this Policy. Currently, we use outsourced service providers in the Philippines, India, and Serbia.


6. Access to your personal information

6.1 You can request us to provide you with access to personal information we hold about you by sending us an email: privacy@count.au (no spam please) or writing to us at Level 1, 45 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000.

6.2 We may allow an inspection of your personal information in person, or provide copies or a summary of relevant documents, depending on what is the most appropriate in the circumstances. Any charge we make for providing access will be reasonable and will not apply to lodging a request for access. Your request to access your personal information will be dealt with in a reasonable time.

6.3 Note that we need not provide access to personal information if a request is frivolous, or where to provide access would pose a threat to health or public safety, unreasonable interference with another person’s privacy, or be a breach of the law. If we refuse access, we will provide you with reasons for doing so.


7. Accuracy and correction

7.1 To enable us to keep our records properly, please notify us if you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date and we will take reasonable steps, in the circumstances, to ensure that it is corrected. You can notify us by sending us an email: privacy@count.au (no spam please) or writing to us at Level 1, 45 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000.


8. Our security procedures

8.1 We take your privacy and the privacy of our associated entities and their clients very seriously. We will take reasonable steps in the circumstances to protect any personal information you provide to us from misuse, interference, or loss and unauthorised access, modification, and disclosure.

8.2 We will also deidentify and destroy the personal information we hold about you once our legal obligations cease. Our security procedures are reviewed from time to time and we update them when relevant.

8.3 Please be aware that the transmission of data over the internet is never guaranteed to be completely secure. It is possible that third parties not under our control may be able to access or intercept transmissions or private communications without our permission or knowledge. We take all reasonable steps, in the circumstances, to protect your personal information. However, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us. Such transmissions are done at your own risk.


9. Data breach notification

9.1 We are required to give notice to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and affected individuals of an “eligible data breach”. This means that if we hold personal information about you, and there is unauthorised access to or disclosure of your personal information, and if you, as the “affected individual” would be likely to suffer serious harm from this access or disclosure, we must notify both you and the OAIC.

9.2 “Serious harm” could include identity theft, threats to physical safety, economic and financial harm, harm to reputation, embarrassment, discrimination, or harassment. The test is whether a “reasonable person” would expect you to suffer serious harm.

9.3 If you are likely to suffer serious harm from a data breach, we will notify you of:

  • The nature of the eligible data breach (i.e., how the information was accessed or disclosed);
  • The type of information that was accessed or disclosed;
  • The steps that we have taken to control or reduce the harm, and those that we plan to take;
  • Any assistance we can offer you, such as arranging for credit monitoring;
  • Anything that we can suggest you can do to assist yourself or mitigate the harm;
  • Whether the breach has also been notified to the OAIC;
  • How you can contact us for information or to complain; and
  • How to make a complaint with the OAIC.

9.4 We will notify you using the same method that we usually use to communicate with you. If it is not practicable for us to notify you personally, we will publish the notification on our website.

9.5 There are some circumstances in which we do not have to notify you of a data breach. These include:

  • Where we have taken remedial action before any serious harm has been caused by the breach;
  • If you have been notified of the breach by another entity;
  • If notification would be inconsistent with Commonwealth secrecy laws; or
  • Where the OAIC declares that notification does not have to be given.

9.6 Depending on the nature of the breach and the harm, we may voluntarily inform other third parties such as the police or other regulators or professional bodies.


10. Identifiers

10.1 We will not adopt as our own any government identifiers you may provide to us such as TFNs and will not store these identifiers on any information.


11. Links to other sites

11.1 We may provide links to other sites for you to access. You should be aware that these other sites are not subject to this Policy or our privacy standards and procedures. You will need to contact them directly to ascertain their privacy standards.


12. Cookies

12.1 Our website may deposit “cookies” on a visitor’s computer. Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to an individual’s hard drive for record-keeping purposes. Cookies are only sent back to the website that deposited them when a visitor returns to that site.

12.2 Cookies make it easier for you by saving your preferences while you are at our site. We never save personal identifiable information in cookies. Most web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can, however, reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent.


13. Changes to our Privacy Policy

13.1 From time to time, we may vary this Policy for any reason. We will publish any changes on this website.

13.2 By continuing to use our website and continuing to provide us with your information, you confirm your acceptance of these changes.


14. Complaints resolution

14.1 We are committed to providing a fair and responsible system for the handling of complaints from parties whose personal information we hold. If you have any concerns regarding the way we have handled your privacy, please send us an email at privacy@count.au or write to us at Level 1, 45 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000. We will address any concerns you have through our complaints handling process and we will inform you of the outcome of your complaint within a reasonable timeframe.

14.2 If after receiving our response, you still consider that your privacy complaint has not been resolved, you may refer your concerns to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au.