Your phone rings. The caller claims to be from the Chinese police force. Their number matches the official number online. They have official looking documents to prove that you're guilty of fraud. They pass you between different callers, each person more official and more intimidating.
You panic, you get scared, and you start complying with their demands. You hand over money, and then it all turns out to be a fake. Authority scams like these have led to 12 million dollars being lost in 2025, and the ACCC received 1,294 reports with a median loss of 55,000 dollars.
Scammers use sophisticated techniques mimicking real-life authorities and fabricating documents. Put simply, they're very convincing. And Bradfield is so multicultural, we're blessed to be home to people from China, India, Armenia, Korea, South Africa.
So it's so disturbing to see scammers preying on our culturally and linguistically diverse communities like this. Scams are devastating, and they exploit people's instincts to be trustful, and they weaponise people's vulnerabilities as non-first language English speakers.
But everyone, no matter of your English-speaking ability, can learn to defend against scams, and it's why I'm holding an event on the 27th of August to upskill our diverse community. You'll be hearing from New South Wales Police, Services Australia, and real-life experiences from members of the Chinese community in Bradfield.