Summary: A throw down challenge between generations on who can spot the scam. Who wins? 

Published: 12 August 2019

Transcript

Alex: Have either of you ever been scammed?

Consumer: Yes

Alex: And what happened?

Consumer: I had an email saying that my car had been involved in an accident, and I needed to send money to this supposed lawyer.

Alex: Did you pay the scammer?

Consumer: No.

Alex: Excellent. Excellent decision.Have either of you ever been scammed and what happened?

Consumer: No and I hope not.

Consumer: I think now, with our generation, kind of knowing the internet a bit better, I think we can spot a scam.

Alex: Let’s put that to the test shall we?

GRAPHICS: Millennials vs Boomers

Alex: Okay. So our first quiz is two different communications from Australia Post, one is an SMS, one is an email. Which one of these is the scams and why?

Consumer: I don’t know. They both seem pretty legit. I’m gonna say neither of them are scams.

Consumer: Yeah.

GRAPHICS: Red Cross

Consumer: I think that’s legit. It’s asking me to bring photo ID, proof of address, et cetera.

Alex: One hundred percent correct. That one is legitimate. The telltale one on this is: ‘Your parcel has experiences an exception, and is undelivered,’ which is not amazing English from Australia Post. The next one are two communications from eBay: one is a scam and one is not.

Consumer: I would normally go and look up this address to see which one I’ve used in the past.

Consumer: This one puts the wind up me. They want too much information from me.

Alex: Again, correct on both accounts. It is a suspect domain, ‘cgi.com’ is wrong, and they do- why do they need that detail? Which one’s the scam and why?

Consumer: That one. Email address.

Consumer: Yeah.

Alex: Very quick and accurate. Alright. Online shopping sites. These two sites both sell bags. One is a scam and one isn’t, and I’m going to ask you which one is the scam and why?

Consumer: You get suspicious when you see the cheap prices.

Consumer: Yes, so my gut feeling would be: this is too good to be true.

Alex: One hundred percent correct. Excellent answer.

Consumer: That one. You can tell by the price difference. Yeah, I would say that as well.

GRAPHICS: Final score 2-3 (Millennials vs Boomers)

Alex: If you did get scammed, what would you do?

Consumer: Probably report it to….um one of the appropriate people, like Scamwatch.