Fuel retail businesses have long been targets of criminal activity and fraudulent behaviour. Managing security onsite requires operators to keep staff informed about common scams and what they can do to protect themselves from being a victim of them. As the cash and cigarette scams do the rounds through the industry again a new resource is available to assist sites in communicating to staff the red flags and responses.
Service stations are being targeted again with the cigarette scam, where attendants are deceived into handing over thousands of dollars’ worth of cigarettes.
In August 2024, incidents of scam and robbery offences targeting tobacco products and cash at service stations have occurred within the Sydney Metropolitan area.
The incidents involved offenders deceiving service station attendants at the victim organisation into believing they are store managers or police using modern technology mobile phone ’spoofing’ and ‘WhatsApp’ communication service for the purpose of obtaining tobacco products and cash.
What does the scam usually look like?
- Offenders contact store on landline falsely claiming to be police officer requesting the manager’s name and phone number in relation to discussing CCTV footage.
- Offenders call store back claiming to be the manager on caller ID ‘spoofed’ mobile phone number and deceive service station attendants into believing that a store of the same service station chain is out of cigarettes.
- Offenders arrange for someone to collect cigarettes/money from victim organisation to restock the other store.
- Offenders use ‘WhatApp’ as communication tool to discuss pickup details.
- A taxi/Uber is used to collect goods/cash
Resources
NSW Police have released a Scam Alert poster on the cash/cigarette scam;
ACAPMA
