Scams are designed to trick you into giving away your money or your personal details. Scams come to you in many forms – by mail, email, telephone, over the Internet and door-to-door. There are several methods that scammers use to steal your money or personal details. Here are two common ones:

1. Great promises

Scammers try to suck you in by promising things like great prizes, true love or easy money. But before they deliver anything, they will ask you to send money or give them your bank account or credit card numbers or other personal details. They never deliver what you expect and always rip you off.

2. Requests for your personal details

Scammers pretend to be legitimate banks or businesses. They approach you out of the blue with leaflets, letters, emails, websites or phone calls with requests that seem like the real thing. Then they’ll give a reason as to why you need to provide them with your personal details, like your credit card number, password, bank account number etc. But genuine organisations don’t usually make such unsolicited requests. If you provide them with your personal details they could steal your money and your identity.

Why do scams work?

A scam succeeds because it looks like the real thing. Scammers are manipulative – they push your buttons to produce the response they want. Don’t let scammers steal your money and personal details – protect yourself.

Dangerous myths about scams

Busting the following commons myths will help reduce your chances of being scammed.

MYTH: The Government vets all companies and businesses, therefore any offers you receive are from legitimate organisations.
FACT: Scammers are criminals. They act illegally and can contact you from anywhere in the world.

MYTH: All Internet sites are real and legitimate.
FACT: Fake websites can easily be set up to look like the real thing

MYTH: There are shortcuts to wealth that only a few people know.
FACT: They wouldn’t be telling their secrets to you.

MYTH: Scams only involve large amounts of money.
FACT: Some scammers target large numbers of people for small amounts of money. It all adds up to a lot if they succeed.

MYTH: Scams are always about money.
FACT: Some scams try to steal your personal information to sell or get more than just your money.

Protect yourself – There are no guaranteed get-rich-quick schemes – the only people who get rich are the scammers.

1. Don’trespond to offers, deals or requests for your details. Stop. Take time to independently check the offer.

2. send money or give credit card, account or other personal details to anyone who makes unsolicited offers or requests for information.

3. Don’trely on glowing testimonials: find solid evidence from independent sources (not those provided with the offer).

4. Never respond to out of the blue requests for your personal details.

5. Alwaystype in the address of a website of a bank, business or authority in which you are interested.

6. Never click on a link provided in an unsolicited email as it will probably lead to a fake website designed to trap you.

7. use phone numbers provided with unsolicited requests or offers as it probably connects you to fakes who will try to trap you with lies.

8. Alwayslook up phone numbers in an independent directory when you wish to check if a request or offer is genuine.

Fight the scammers.

Don’t respond.

www.scamwatch.gov.au or call SCAMwatch on 1300 795 995

No one is safe! Scams target everyone

These special days are being held in rural communities throughout Queensland, New South Wales,

Victoria and Tasmania to give women affected by drought a special day out. Attendance will be

by invitation, if you know someone who you think should be invited for a day out then please

contact a local CWA member or the state office and let them know.

This project has been funded by Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal

THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO SHOPPED ON FRIDAY 15TH FEBRUARY.

$5.8 million dollars raised in one day.

Due to the magnificent efforts of the shoppers of Australia the members of the Country Women’s Associations around Australia we were able to help over 3000 farming families.

We paid emergency household accounts as well as health expense, fuel costs and costs involved with children going back to school.

We are also be able to ensure that sustainable agriculture projects are continued which will help farmers deal with droughts into the future.

We thank Woolworths for recognising there is still a drought affecting farmers in our rural communities and for doing something about it.

We started the Conference with a thought provoking and inspiring church service with marvellous choir from the CWA of Victoria Inc.

There were some very interesting guest speakers from a variety of areas including health, farm safety, consumers rights and issues for rural communities.

Our dinner guest was a very inspiring young women who talked about her training to become a doctor and her time spent working as a surgeon in New Guinea. This fitted well with the opening speaker Mrs Ruth Shanks, who talked of the work that CWA members have been doing with the women on the South Pacific Island.

We also heard from a young women who told us of how she and some friends set up the Desperate Farmwives to help them and the community deal with the issues of drought for them and others in the community.

Members enjoyed the debate held around the many resolutions which included the future of the dairy industry, loss of the medicare rebate for some opthalmic surgery, buy-back schemes for water and the problems with flying foxes.

There was plenty of time to catch up with old friends and with a high numbers of first time attendees there was plenty of time to meet new friends and for networking.

A wonderful night of entertainment included skits from members of the states and territory, and the beautiful voice of Donald Cambell. There was some great singing to celebrate the football in Victoria with team songs being sung.

A new National President was elected, Mrs Heather Wieland from Queensland and we wish her and her secretary and treasurer well for their term in office.

We acknowledge the following SPONSORS

CGU Insurance www.cgu.com.au

beyondblue www.beyondblue.org.au

Arnol Building Surveyors Melbourne Cleverpatch,

Furpheys, It’s an Honor-DPAC