BUSINESS owners in the city are being targeted by scammers trying to defraud them of thousands of dollars.
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Scammers called business managers this week and said their gas accounts were overdue and unless they paid up immediately, their service would be cut.
The scam follows reports late last month where a building company’s logo was used on a letter sent out to organisations informing them the company had changed its bank account details and all future accounts payable were to be paid into the new account.
The letter was a fake, and the business was unaware it was circulating.
Glyn Daunt, from Jack Duggans Hotel, said he got a phone call on Wednesday morning saying the gas bill was overdue and the service was about to be cut off unless he made a payment.
“It was someone saying they were from AGL and the account was overdue,” he said.
“They directed me to call 1300 014 404 and I spoke to a guy called John. He asked for the billing address of the business, looked it up and said we were overdue $1298.60.
“He also said if the account wasn’t paid by 12.30 the gas would be disconnected, and gave me the option of paying directly into a NAB or ANZ account.”
‘John’ also gave Mr Daunt the appropriate account number (7207555) and BSB (086006).
Mr Daunt said it sounded legitimate, and while he did have doubts, he still called his business partner to check the account had been paid.
“Peter [Mr Daunt’s business partner] told me all the bills are direct debited and there was no way they could be overdue, but because they sounded professional it was in the back of mind [it was overdue].
“We’re a service industry; I can’t have the gas cut when all these people are here to have lunch and we’ve got no gas to cook with.”
While he didn’t fall victim to the scam, Mr Daunt said he sees how people can be fooled, and wanted to make other businesses aware of what was going on.
“I really had to think twice and double check,” he said.
A police spokesperson said scams target both businesses and individuals and warned people not to take things on face value.
They advised to beware of “cold callers” and confirm who is speaking.
Business owners who receive a letter from a supplier or service provider notifying of a change of bank or payment details are advised by police to ring the supplier and check before transferring any money.
