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“This looks great, I can’t pick it up myself but my brother will come tomorrow. I can pay right now, what’s your PayID?”
If you’ve recently tried to offload some stuff on Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree, you’ve likely received similar messages to the above. The buyer will be prompt in their responses. No, they don’t even need to inspect it, they’re that keen. They have a relative who can conveniently pick it up! Oh, and they can pay you immediately, all you need to do is send your PayID – the phone number or email address you have given your bank so people can easily transfer you cash.
The transaction might seem too easy to be legit, and you’d be right to suspect it. If you give the scammer your PayID, you’ll receive a notice that your account needs to be “upgraded” for the payment to go through. Then, the scammer will say they’ve paid the necessary fee to do so, and you should pay them back. Once you transfer them the money – poof, it’s gone. And the old sofa you were trying to get rid of is still sitting in the hallway where you hit your toe on it every time you go past.
As Queensland University of Technology online fraud expert Cassandra Cross explains, Australians lost more than $260,000 to this exact scam just last year. She also offers some valuable tips on red flags to watch out for, and actions to take if you have been taken advantage of.
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Signe Dean
Science + Technology Editor
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Cassandra Cross, Queensland University of Technology
All you wanted was to sell your sofa online. So why are so many ‘buyers’ suddenly insisting on using your PayID?
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Jamie Pittock, Australian National University
Knowing the ‘next drought is just around the corner’, Australia’s Water Minister Tanya Plibersek is striking a new agreement to return water and health to the Murray-Darling Basin.
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Ben Phillips, Australian National University
Mortgaged households have faced a 17.5% increase in living costs over the past two years, compared to 10.8% for households who rent.
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Jay Daniel Thompson, RMIT University
The move could jeopardise users’ safety and might even get the platform banned from the Google and Apple app stores.
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Vivienne Lewis, University of Canberra
Although under represented in research, about one third of people with an eating disorder are male. Netflix show Heartstopper explores this in season two.
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Brian Moore, Charles Sturt University; Elizabeth Murray, Charles Sturt University
As the school term stretches on, many parents might be tempted to take their children away for a break. Here’s what you need to consider.
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Garritt C Van Dyk, University of Newcastle
How did a country that did not make wine somehow invent effervescence?
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Craig Mark, Hosei University
With the leaders of the US, South Korea and Japan meeting at Camp David, attention has once again been turned to North Korea’s as well as to China’s activities in the region.
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Sarah DeYoung, University of Delaware
Animal shelters and other organizations that support pets and their owners after disasters will still need help months after the media has moved on.
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Politics + Society
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The report, to be released in full on Thursday, puts the number of people 65 and over at about nine million by the early 2060s – from nearly 4.4 million in the 2021 census
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Health + Medicine
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Kristin Graham, University of South Australia; Helen Banwell, University of South Australia; Saravana Kumar, University of South Australia
The verdict is mixed.
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Environment + Energy
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Jason Alexandra, Australian National University; Kate Lawrence, Australian National University; Mark Howden, Australian National University
We can construct buildings that reduce atmospheric CO₂ by more than their lifetime emissions. They now don’t cost much more – and a project involving 1.2 million homes would drive costs down further.
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Philip Laird, University of Wollongong
Both major parties are promising major road projects this election. Meanwhile, the potential for passenger and freight rail to help meet the country’s climate goals seems stuck at the station.
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Priyanka Dhopade, University of Auckland; Carolle Varughese, University of Auckland; Lena Henry, University of Auckland; Sarah Hendrica Bickerton, University of Auckland; Te Kahuratai Moko-Painting, University of Auckland
Space exploration is often propelled by competition, driven by national pride and with little thought about consequence. It is time to consider space as a commons, not just a resource to exploit.
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Books + Ideas
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Rosie Clare Shorter, Deakin University
New memoirs by Rachel Louise Snyder and Steph Lentz chart the territory of being shaped by an ill-fitting version of strict Christianity – and their struggle to free themselves.
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Jacqueline Millner, La Trobe University
It’s often implied that violent art means something sinister about its creator – most recently, in news stories about ‘scary’ kids’ drawings of death. But the history of modern art suggests otherwise.
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Business + Economy
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Ann Kayis-Kumar, UNSW Sydney; Gordon Mackenzie, UNSW Sydney; Jack Noone, UNSW Sydney; Michael Walpole, UNSW Sydney; Youngdeok Lim, UNSW Sydney
If you earn less than $60,000, you may be eligible for free tax help. But there is more we could do to help everyone – including struggling sole traders or small businesses – get the advice they need.
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