Brazen scammer targets SW regulator

Scammer are becoming so audacious that they are targeting the people tasked with bringing them down.

A Department of Commerce staff member was phoned at home by a man claiming to offer Federal Government retirement information and the conman insisted on meeting face-to-face.

Consumer Protection South West coordinator Debbie Butler sat in on the "totally bizarre" meeting at the department's Bunbury offices and said the man could not answer questions about his identity or business.

"He wasn't put off at all by the fact he was coming to the Department of Commerce and was quite happy to meet with public officers and try to perpetrate the scam," Ms Butler said.

"The man turned up trying to sell financial planning but hadn't met the disclosure requirements or the requirements for unsolicited sales.

"We asked him to identify himself and he gave a name but told us he had no card or identifying information.

"In the end, he asked if he could leave and we said, 'We weren't the ones who asked for an appointment'."

The man's organisation, which Ms Butler said was already under investigation, had a similar name to a legitimate Eastern States business that had been fielding misguided complaints based on scammers' actions.

"It was an interesting experience in how staff have private lives and can be subject to those phone calls but we were able to use that information to help other consumers," Ms Butler said.

She said scammers had become increasingly sophisticated in their methods and Consumer Protection had issued more warnings about scams in the first half of 2015 than in the six months prior.

"These fraudsters do their research and understand psychology," she said.

"One of the worst things people can do is engage scammers in conversations.

"Once a scammer has been able to have a conversation with you or you've given money once, you can find yourself targeted."

Ms Butler said though basic get-rich-quick schemes and inheritance promises were still around, scams "are run by organised international crime networks that are much more complex".

She said scammers were becoming bolder, such as in a recent Australian Tax Office scam of leaving call-back messages for potential victims.

Ms Butler said Consumer Protection had established links with agencies such as Australia Post to remain ahead of scammers, including intercepting letters claiming to offer inheritance benefits or overseas lottery wins.