Money Scams

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (15:01): My question is—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

Ms DIGANCE: It will be. Listen. My question is to the Minister for Consumer and Business Services. Minister, could you provide an update to the house on how members of our community can actively avoid falling victim to money scams?

The SPEAKER: Is the Deputy Premier able to assist?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for Consumer and Business Services, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (15:02): Yes, I am, Mr Speaker, and can I thank the honourable member for her question. Members would be really, I think, interested to know about this, because when it comes to scams, self-defence is the best policy. This could not be more relevant than in the case of a recent series of tax office scams that are targeting a diverse range of South Australians. I am one such South Australian, and I am going to share with you what happened to me. I came home from work one evening at about midnight, as I usually do, and there was a message on my answering—

Ms Sanderson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Adelaide is warned for the second and final time. Any more utterances outside standing orders will be met by the application of the sessional orders. Deputy Premier.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: There was a message on my answering service and it was a woman's voice, but it was clearly a voice that was manufactured. Mr Speaker, you know the sort of sound when some lifts speak to you. They are speaking English, but they often have an American accent—

The Hon. J.J. Snelling: Sounds like Siri.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Siri—that's right.

Mr GARDNER: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Point of order?

Mr GARDNER: Standing order 98: the minister is debating the quality of Siri's voice rather than letting the member for Adelaide raise important child protection issues.

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta will leave the house for an hour for an entirely bogus point of order—and tomorrow we can go back to the old question system. Deputy Premier.

The honourable member for Morialta having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am actually trying to provide some information to the parliament. This bogus computer-generated female voice with a slight American accent said to me, 'As soon as you get this message you must ring the taxation department. This is very urgent. You need to contact the taxation department. You are in serious trouble. If you do not return this call immediately, the consequences will be severe.' Then the person gave what I assume to be a bogus name, which I wrote down, and a bogus phone number. I thought this was an accident. Three days later, it happened to me again—same voice, different name, different phone number. It happened again a week after that, by which time I became so concerned I spoke to my driver, Malcolm—

The SPEAKER: As you do.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: —and, Mr Speaker, he had a similar thing done to him. And not only did it happen to Malcolm, but my mother received one as well. Now, I immediately contacted consumer affairs and said, 'What is going on?' and consumer affairs—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: This is serious; the fact is that these people are trying to pinch identities from people. They are trying to pinch your identity. What they want you to do is ring that person back, and then they will ask you a bunch of questions like, 'Is your name so-and-so? We have to check. What is your bank account number? What is your tax file number?' That is where they are heading. It must go from this place forward today, to all South Australians—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: 'Let the word go forth from this time and place'—

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Let the word go forth: don't respond to these bogus phone calls. Don't be a sucker when it comes to people trying to steal your identity.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: —'to friend and foe'.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: They are definitely foes; they are not friends. Many of these things are operating from overseas, so I just think it is very important. These scam artists use phone calls, emails, letters and, of course, as I have mentioned, these recorded voice messages. If this occurs, you should either disconnect the phone or hang up. Do not respond, and do not in any way engage with these people, because they mean you no good. They mean you no good, Mr Speaker; they will cause trouble. They are known to be able to replicate government logos. The key—

The SPEAKER: As much as I am enjoying this, the member's time has expired. In response to the member for Morialta's bogus point of order, if anyone cramped the member for Adelaide's style in question time today, it was the members of the opposition who asked four supplementaries on government questions. The member for Adelaide.