Tea Gardens Library to host NBN Scam Awareness seminar Myall Coast Myall Coast - popup ad Myall Coast News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - February 9, 2024 How ACCC defines the many scams being perpetrated. Photo: ACCC. MIDCOAST Council is again partnering with NBN Co to host free scam awareness seminars at Council Libraries across the LGA, with Tea Gardens hosting on Wednesday 28 February, 2pm-3:30pm. “We are passionate about giving our community the opportunity to get connected and stay safe in an online environment,” said Alex Mills, MidCoast Council’s Manager Libraries, Community and Cultural Services. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au At the previous Tea Gardens session, held in May last year, a small but dedicated group shared stories of scam attempts they had experienced, while Mark Poole, Community Ambassador for North Coast, NBNCo, ran them through the exponential array of scams that await unsuspecting users. “NBN is working to keep regional people safer online, the idea is to be alert, not alarmed, be cautious and aware of the risks, don’t be afraid to be online,” Mr Poole advised. “Scams are a multi-billion-dollar industry now, and the tech makes it easier for scammers, they can send one message to a million people with the tap of a button.” Several residents from the Myall area have routinely reported almost daily scam traffic on their smartphones or emails. The lack of confidence of some many online users only feeds the scammers, and, Mr Poole said, “Legislation has been slow to catch up with the lightning speed of the technology.” The ACCC’s updated ‘Little Black Book of Scams’ should be made available, as it contains a pocket-guide to the realities that we all face online. Those present in May last year also shared a central lesson, which was that trust should never be lightly given out, no matter how hard a suspected scammer presses for information. “If you did not ask for the email/SMS/other form of contact, then do not open nor respond to it, especially if it, in any way, seems too good to be true.” The MidCoast/NBNCo Scam Awareness Seminars are relevant to everyone, making these excellent, free and safe opportunities to ask questions that have found no audience prior. Sessions are free, and bookings essential. Visit www.midcoastlibraries.com.au/Events/NBN-Session-Scam-Awareness. By Thomas O’KEEFE The ubiquity of smartphones makes them, and their users, prime targets. Photo: ACCC. Romance scams are, sadly, one of the most prevalent out there. Photo: ACCC.
