00:00Well, scambling is very complex. It's basically a combination of a scam, online, offshore,
00:09illegal gambling and micro money laundering.
00:14And it's a particular issue in Aboriginal communities, is it?
00:18It certainly is. It appears that Aboriginal communities have been geo-targeted by overseas
00:24criminal groups. They're enticed to play. It's incredibly addictive. And like you say,
00:30it is definitely spreading like wildfire.
00:32Well, how popular is it? How many people are getting caught up in this?
00:35Well, I've done some mapping, Ros, and there's about 80 remote communities in the Northern
00:40Territory where people are playing. And in those communities, it's quite widespread.
00:46It's really affecting a lot of individuals and families.
00:50And how much are people spending or losing? What financial damage is happening?
00:56Well, sadly, these people are already in poverty and they're struggling financially before this
01:04happened. So it's hard to put a figure on the numbers. It's quite harmful. We're seeing daily
01:11multiple transactions day after day in bank statements, going across to foreign pay ID accounts,
01:19never to be seen again. So it's affecting, you know, their ability to cope with day-to-day
01:25living expenses.
01:26Are there consumer protections in place at all to combat these sites?
01:30Well, sadly, with online and offshore gambling, they're not regulated in Australia. So there's
01:38currently no consumer protections. We're calling out for government regulators and the banking sector,
01:46even, you know, financial counsellors and everyone to come together for a coordinated effort to try and
01:53implement some safeguards and strategies to prevent the harm.
01:57And Kelly, how can people identify these scams? What are the telltale signs or red flags?
02:03Well, they basically look very much like a legitimate gambling site. They've reproduced them to look very
02:11real. There's music and flashing lights and free spins, just like a normal online poker machine
02:17game. People are usually targeted through WhatsApp and messaging platforms, Facebook, social media,
02:26and they're enticed to play with free spins and small wins early. And then the wins dry up. It looks
02:34in a bank statement like multiple pay ID transfers to people with names that would normally be from
02:40overseas that Indigenous people may not transfer to. And some of them are even fake retail sites.
02:47So what can people do then if they find that they have been caught up in this?
02:53Well, what they can do is notify their bank, call their bank immediately, tell them what's happening,
02:59ask them to put blocks on the payees and also on their account, open another secure bank account,
03:08definitely block the actual sites and the phone numbers that they're getting all the messages from.
03:14They're very persistent and they're harassing people, so they'll need to block them or they'll
03:18keep chasing them. They can also reach out to the National Debt Helpline and Mob Strong Debt Strong
03:25or come and see one of their local money management workers in their community or their financial
03:31and well-being people.
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