Ratepayer scam alert

Council says ignore dodgy text messages

GOLD Coast City Council says suspicious text messages sent to ratepayers about bill payments are a scam and should be ignored.

Ratepayers complained to city hall that they had received a message about a “secret biller code” to help them pay rates via BPAY.

It is unclear how many people received the message.

“Secret code for biller GCCC (number deleted), (number deleted) do not provide this to anyone including the NAB,” the message reads.

The council’s director of organisational services Glen Potter said the council was unaware of the scam until late last week.

“The scam is not directly related to any breach of council’s customer databases and therefore the number of people sent the SMS is unknown,” he said.

Mr Potter said because the council’s system had not been breached, they were unaware the text message was circulating until a ratepayer called to check its authenticity.

“As per council policy, as soon as we are made aware of any potential scam, we advised our customers (through social media) and in this case, BPAY.”

He said only a few people had contacted the council regarding the scam, but there were simple steps to take to avoid being stung.

“The correct biller code for BPAY is on council rates notice and if unsure, customers can contact the council to confirm the correct information.”

It is the first SMS scam the council is aware of.

Mr Potter urged those who think they may have been hit to take action.

“Contact their bank immediately who will have cybersecurity procedures and fraud procedures.”

Police or the Office of Fair Trading said they were unaware of the scam.

But the latter urged people to be on the front foot.

“Consumers should be wary of any unsolicited contact that purports to advise of new billing information or payment methods,” the Office of Fair Trading spokesperson said.

“If consumers are unsure of the legitimacy of a text message, they should contact the organisation that supposedly sent it.”

The spokesperson also warned people against using links or phone numbers sent from an unknown number.

“Instead, consumers should do an internet search for the organisation and use the phone number listed on their website.”

The spokesperson said anyone who had paid money using the fake biller code should contact their bank immediately.