Young farmers the hardest hit by scammers
Aussie farmers lost more than $1.2 million to tractor scammers between January and August, prompting fresh warnings about online safety.According to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, the most reported categories were classified scams and online shopping scams, with most reports relating to fake online sales for tractors and heavy machinery.NSW Farmers Rural Affairs Committee chair Deb Charlton said farmers and small businesses lost more than $1.5 million to scammers targeting agriculture last year, and that figure could increase for 2022.“This is a really stressful time for farmers with the terrible weather, high input costs and supermarkets trying to keep prices low, so to lose money to a scammer is just unthinkable,” Mrs Charlton said.“We don’t know the full impact of scams because a third of victims don’t ever report it, but of the 292 reports of agriculture scams from January to August, 219 involved tractors or machinery.“On average tractor scam victims lose more than $16,000, and young farmers from NSW are those hardest hit.”Mrs Charlton said with online safety in the headlines, it was critical for farmers to protect themselves and their businesses.“If it’s too cheap it’s probably too good to be true, so always do your research and take your time if you’re buying online,” she said.“We’ve also heard about fake invoice scams costing farmers more than $320,000 this year, so make sure you double check details even on invoices you’re expecting.“At the end of the day there are crooks out there trying to take your hard-earned, so take a little extra precaution and stay safe.”
Date: Thursday, October 13, 2022
Media Contact: Steve Mudd | 0429 011 690 | mudds@nswfarmers.org.au