Virgin Money is proud to support Scams Awareness Week 2024 (26-30 August 2024), encouraging Australians to share their experiences with scams to help prevent others from falling victim.

Scammers are criminals who manipulate and deceive you into giving them your money or personal information. They deliberately induce feelings of shame, guilt, self-doubt and distrust, often taking advantage of situations when you are distracted, busy, fearful, anxious or stressed.

Benjamin Hargreaves, General Manager Financial Crime Operations at BOQ Group (owners of Virgin Money) emphasises the importance of sharing stories in scam prevention. 

“Almost everyone you know has encountered a scam. By talking to each other, we can make sure no one is alone in the fight against scams. If you have identified or encountered a scam, it is important that you share your story with someone – it could be your mates, family, colleagues, social networks, or community.”

“When you share your encounter with a scam, you’re not just telling a story, you’re building a shield that can protect someone else from losing their money or personal information to a scammer. Every story we hear strengthens our collective defence. Virgin Money contributes to this defence by sharing scam alerts through our website and social media platforms.”

Hargreaves encourages Australians to share their stories on social media using the hashtag #ShareAScamStory and to talk to someone they know about scams. He also urges consumers to ‘Stop, check, report’ if they suspect a scam.

“If you are concerned you have fallen victim to a scam, please contact your bank straight away. Ask them to stop any transactions. You can also make an official report to the police via cyber.gov.au/report.”

Customer protection from fraud and scams is a top priority for Virgin Money. The bank is significantly investing every year into enhancing its fraud technology and is collaborating with government and industry bodies, including the Scam-Safe Accord.

For more information on how Virgin Money protects customers or what to do if you think your account is at risk, refer to virginmoney.com.au/fraud-and-scams. Virgin Money also recommends other government and industry supports such as Scamwatch, IDCARE and The Australian Cyber Security Centre.