Australia and Oceania

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 Oceania is a geographic region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.  

Tourists are often distracted, caught up and in awe of the destination they are visiting, often not noticing other things or people around them. Here we share common tactics and travel scams that travellers should be aware of, so hopefully you will read the scams and recognise them if approached by a scammer so you can avoid them. You may not encounter any of them or you may encounter some of them, this list helps prepare you should a scammer target you.

Some of the most common travel scams are seen throughout many countries around the world in similar or various forms. Most are fairly harmless besides putting a dent in your wallet and your pride from being scammed! Some scams are more serious and quite dangerous, know how to recognise the signs to help avoid them.

Visit your government’s travel warning website for more information.

The good people of our world far outweigh those scammers, so be aware, stay safe, but most of all ENJOY!

Emergency - 000  for fire, police, and ambulance. 

                              112 Mobile  phone for fire, police, and ambulance. 

                              131 444  for non-emergency issues that are still a matter for police 

Be Cautious in – NSW – Sydney, Bondi, Manly,  Parramatta, Wollongong, Newcastle,  Port Macquarie, Byron Bay, Albury.  ACT – Canberra. VIC – Melbourne, Richmond, Fitzroy, St Kilda, Hawthorn,  Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Mildura. QLD – Brisbane, Surfers Paradise,  Gold Coast, Broadbeach, Marrochydore, Noosa, Rockhampton, Airlie Beach,  Magnetic Island, Townsville, Cairns, Port Douglas, Toowoomba,  Goondiwindi. WA – Perth, Fremantle, Margaret River, Mandurah, Albany,  Pokolbin, Broome. TAS – Hobart, Launceston. SA – Adelaide. NT – Darwin,  Alice Springs

Fruit Picking/Farm work – Fake websites are listing fake jobs and  fake ‘agencies’ offer to find you jobs that you can find yourself. Use  government website 

https://jobsearch.gov.au/harvest that lists farm jobs. Ask fellow travellers for other trusted farm work contacts.

Fruit Picking/Farm work – Be aware of job offers for fruit-picking or  farm work that want to charge a fee to secure the position, or are  demanding accommodation be paid one or two weeks in advance. Money is  paid and the contact disappears along with your money. Some farmers  legitimately request upfront payment so tourists will not say they will  work, but then don’t arrive. Do some research and ask questions to prove  they are legitimate.

Fruit Picking/Farm work – Fake job offers may also use advertisements  that only provide a post office box contact address (no street address).

Visa – Agencies may guarantee you a quick visa or sponsored work, agencies are not able to make decisions of government.

Fruit Picking/Farm work – Seasonal jobs offered for crops out of season are a dead giveaway of fake job offers.

Fruit Picking/Farm work – A fruit picking advertisement may list an ABN  or ACN (Australian Business or Company Number) to make it seem  legitimate. Scammers have been using legitimate ABN or ACN numbers to  try to fool tourists, an ABN or CAN does not guarantee authenticity. 

Fruit Picking/Farm work – A fruit picking job agencies may list a  free email address such as “gmail” or “hotmail” as the point of contact  which usually indicates that it is a scam. Farmers who do not have an  official website may use these free email accounts, so do your research  to legitimise farms and jobs.

Fruit Picking/Farm work – Whilst the majority of farmers are fair  employees, some treat their workers poorly, provide substandard living  conditions, try to charge a fee to sign off on “days worked” for back  packers looking to extend their working holiday visa, and below award  pay. Research farms prior to accepting a job and if the pay and  conditions and treatment are not as agreed or are unacceptable, leave  and report the farm to local authorities.

Fruit Picking/Farm work – Do NOT hand your passport over to your  employer or agency to hold. If they want to, provide them a copy of  relevant pages. If anyone refuses to return your passport to you,   contact police immediately to explain the situation, and ask them to  assist you to have your passport returned.

Farm work – Whilst rare, there have been reports of perverted Farmers  asking workers for sex – This is inappropriate and unacceptable  behaviour. You should leave the farm immediately taking all your  possessions and go to the local police station to report it. Make sure  they take a statement. If there is not a police station nearby, call  police line 131444, call 000 in an emergency.

Taxi – Drivers may claim that the meter is not working, get straight out of the taxi and take another.

Taxi – Drivers may claim that their EFTPOS terminals aren’t working  and try to use old card terminal. If they do tell them you will call the  taxi call centre to ask what the procedure is from here because you do  not want to use the old card terminal.

Taxi – Drivers may use receipts from earlier trips with a higher fare and charge you for it. Make sure you check the taxi metre.

Taxis – Avoid paying for your taxi with your credit card. Taxi  drivers have been overcharging passengers using credit/debit cards. If  you must use your card, ask for a receipt and check it against the fare.  If there is any discrepancy advise the driver and get the taxi drivers  number and car registration number and report the driver to the taxi  company.Contact us if you know of a transport scam travellers should be  aware of.

Tours – Do not give your passports to any tour operator to hold. They  should not require to hold it, if they insist on having your passport  provide them with a copy. Some tour operators have held tourists  passports to force them to make purchases. Report these operators to  police.

Accommodation – Some accommodation providers in farm work areas offer  farm work jobs, however, once you arrive at the accommodation they say  the job has been taken or some other reason and will continue to give  you false hope of work when they are simply stringing you along as long  as you are paying to stay in their accommodation.

“Tax-free” outlets – Shopping tours to “Tax-free” outlets simply take  shoppers to a suburban warehouse where prices of goods are over  inflated.

BSB – A money transaction into a bank account can be checked by searching the BSB on  bsb.apca.com.au.  If the BSB that states “Austraila Post Pre-Paid Card” or similar  indicated a pre-paid car and not a legitimate bank account and likely to  be a scammer.

Bondi Beach – ALL beaches are FREE in Australia. Some scammers are trying to charge tourists to walk on Bondi Beach.

Pub wristband – Scammers are trying to sell tourists a wristband that  they say will gain them free entry to all clubs at Surfers Paradise and  a welcome drink. They ask $100-$200 for the wristbands before  discounting them to $50-$75if uninterested tourists start walking away.  These wristbands and NOT accepted for entry by any pubs or clubs. Many  clubs in Surfers Paradise offer FREE entry before 10pm.

Tickets – Targeting Chinese tourists via WeChat, criminals are  purchasing tickets on stolen credit cards, discounting them heavily, and  selling them to tourist attractions and events in Australia.  Attractions such as Harbour Bridge, Sydney Easter Show, Victoria Spring  Racing Carnival, Phillips Island Nature Park, Eureka Skydeck and  Sovereign Hill. These tourist operators are aware of this and many of  them are now manually checking tickets together with personal  identification and if they do not match, the tourist will be refused  entry.

Photos – There are NO fees  for taking photographs anywhere in Australia. Scammers are trying to  charge tourists a ‘fee’ for having their photos taken in front of  tourist attractions, such as the Sydney Opera House and the Parliament  House.

Visa – Falsified second Working Holiday Visa documentation may be  offered by agencies for a fee. Government authorities are aware of this  and will not be accepted and presenting these can have serious  consequences.

Kangaroo Essence – Is promoted to tourists as a product made from the penis and testicles of kangaroos for sexual enhancement, however these claims have not been pr.  

If you have current information with regard to a scam or any content on this site please contact us to review and revise or add information. 

Emergency - 111 for fire, police, and ambulance. 

                              105 for non-emergency issues that are still a matter for police 

Be Cautious in – All major cities of New Zealand

Tickets to Events  – There  are several ways you can be scammed buying tickets from individuals, the best way to avoid this is to purchase tickets from authorised sites. If you do purchase from individuals ask them for their bank details to deposit funds to, this way if something goes wrong the police have a start point for catching them.  

 Contact us if you know of a accommodation scam travellers should be aware of.  

Contact us if you know of a accommodation scam travellers should be aware of.  

Contact us if you know of a accommodation scam travellers should be aware of.  

Contact us if you know of a accommodation scam travellers should be aware of.  

Holiday Apartments  – Fake listings, cheap deals, and requests for deposits to hold the listing are some warning signs that a listing may not be genuine. Make sure you see the physical place or get a friend to see it for you. Make sure you have a rental contract through the local rental authority.

If you have current information with regard to a scam or any content on this site please contact us to review and revise or add information.