Sponsors warned of scams at play

Sponsors of a Far North footy club have been put on notice after hackers allegedly sent false invoices in an effort to scam them out of thousands of dollars.

Tully Tigers took to social media on Thursday to warn sponsors after the club’s email account was “compromised by hackers”.

“They have been sending out emails requesting payment to be made to false bank accounts,” the post read.

“We have not changed bank accounts! Please do not pay any invoices prior to speaking with (Tully president) Anthony Emmi.”

The post carried with it a screenshot of the email.

“Please disregard the previous sponsorship invoice I sent you yesterday we are currently changing accounting programs,” the dodgy email reads. “I will re-send an amended invoice with our new banking details on it.

“If you could get back to me soon with the payment that would be great as we have to order our merchandise for the 2024 season.”

The false email is “signed off” by Emmi, who was understandably filthy at those who were cheating the club.

“I hadn’t heard from a sponsor so I reached out to them, and they said they’d already paid it,” the real Emmi said.

It’s understood several major sponsors are among those to have received the emails with dodgy details.

Other clubs - and the FNQ Rugby League - have also been targeted by scams.

Most relate to false social media profiles which have cloned the look of existing pages, with FNQRL officials on Tuesday posting a screenshot of one offending page.

“A fake Facebook page has been created and is sending friend requests from FNQ Rugby League - please do not accept this fake friend request,” the post reads.