Online Threat Alerts (OTA) - Alerting you to scams and frauds.
The Australian Border Force is aware of reports that members of the community are receiving phone calls from an automated voice claiming to represent them. The voice tells them that the ABF is holding a parcel that contains something illegal and a warrant has been issued for their arrest. This is a scam and recipients of the same calls are asked not to follow the callers' instructions or try to call the number back.
The Australian Border Force will never call or email you to ask for your credit card or banking details or to request that you transfer money. If you have reason to doubt the validity of a caller or an email, ask for their name and contact details, then check these details with the Customs and Border Protection switchboard by calling 1300 363 263. You can also report any suspicious activities to Customs Watch by phoning 1800 06 1800.
More information on Customs and Border Protection invoice payment procedures can be found at www.customs.gov.au
Concerned members of the public can also check the Australian Government’s ScamWatch website at www.scamwatch.gov.au or call 1300 302 502.
Check the comment section below for answers or additional information. Share what you know, or ask a question about this article by leaving a comment below.
Online Threat Alerts (OTA) is not affiliated with or endorsed by any trademark owner mentioned in this article. Some of the information in samples in this article may have been impersonated or spoofed.
60
Had a missed call today from 61246965769 dont even know anyone in Australia
Supposed Australian Border Force call from 0413 443 370
I received a phone call from 64 4 001 1429 claiming to be border force.it was a scam and I did nor take or do any instructions advised.
0406 164 775 - saying they are Australian Border Force
fraudulent activity scam from 0415726496
Australian Border Force call from number 0406313562
Got call today from 0413332503 saying the same, warrant for arrest, sent them a picture of the news artical about it, said the AFP are coming for them . These people should get automatic 20 years in prison to stop it happening,
I got a scam call 1050 Monday 1st November 2021 from 0342477254telling me there was an arrest warrant out for me on account of a parcel with illicit contents or some such thing, grrrrrrr.
just had this one myself from phone number 0402722795
It's very annoying it has rang 3 times already in the last hour off different numbers and left voicemails 0459287849 is the last number. Anybody know how to stop it. I stupidly left my number on a gaming site for free lives on my app, im assuming it's from that.
I got this call too. The caller number was 0439 707 173.
I just received an automated call from 0420 884 292 claiming to be ABF
I got today automated call from Australian border force and asked to press number one , so straight away hung up. The phone number was 0450 179 712. Be careful!!!
I have been placed on their “call list” and get calls every so often with the call stating they have seized a parcel from Australian (not Australia) post and have an arrest warrant press 1. They keep changing numbers which is why I use a different pre paid number for my eBay and Amazon purchases. If you buy anything from eBay and have a phone number on your account, it is supplied to the seller which is why I use this prepaid. I would hate to be getting these scam calls on my proper number. Big annoying scam!I get the calls from mobile numbers which clearly the border force use all the time NOT!
Got this call today , knew it was a scam right away , I don’t have any parcels sent and I know they don’t make warrants over the phone . Soon as credit card details come up I just laughed and hung up , how dumb do they think we is … do people really fall for this stuff .
I have had 4 calls today, from 03 numbers. I'm getting really sick of it. Is there any way they can be stopped?
I received the call 3 times yesterday (Perth au) 8th Oct 21, telling me that the ABF is holding a parcel that contains something illegal and a warrant has been issued for my arrest. Different number each time. 0412603337, 0412603324, 0412603391.SCAM!
I had a call this morning from 0407193807. I did press 1 and spoke to a man named Fernandez. He asked for my name to verify he had the right person and the postcode. When he became aggressive on the phone I hung up. I am now in the process of changing all my passwords. It did sound very legitimate but the aggression was a turn off. I immediatly phoned The Australian Border Force to report the phone call. I would love to know how they get out numbers.
Just had a call from 'ABF'with the same scam message. The number was 0409 163 150
Me too but the number was 0427 809 542
received a call today saying that they had parcel with cocaine, heroin, cannibas and meth and I had to contact them or they are coming to get me with a warrant. no. was 61425208902 don't answer
I had calls with the above description twice from 0353278244 and 0435030327
Have been getting so many of these calls. The caller came from this number: 64432581721
I have also received a couple of these calls. I blocked the first number and reviewed another call exactly the same a week later from a different number. I did not follow the prompts to push on line 1 and disconnected the call. I rang the police to check they were not looking for me and reported it to scan watch. Be careful folks these people are shifty and will try something else. I have since received calls stating I was under arrest for tax evasion.
Yes, I today got a robocall claiming to be the 'Australian Border Force'. Care is needed - do not call for these scammers.
Just got the same experience as every one else above but the call came from my own number? WTF?
The number who called me on the same scam topic is 03 81141972. Asked me to dial 1. I didn't do anything, then it hung up automatically. After searching on internet, I blocked the number right away.
Received a phone call from 0427368359 saying it was Border Force and I had a package being held due to an illegal item and that an arrest warrant had been issued. I hung up. Called the number back right away and spoke to some guy named Brad who had no idea what the h**l I was talking about. It appears they are using numbers of real people to mask the true origin of the call.
Call from 03 8534 7810 saying illegal items were found in a parcel addressed to me and an arrest warrant issued.
Just received a call from 0447212312 saying illegal items were found in a parcel addressed to me and an arrest warrant issued. Terminated the call.
24/09/2021Answered a call from 1(554)3482616 U.S number, today saying Border Control had seized a package in my name and an arrest warrant had been issued. Terminated call immediately.
Answered a call from 03 42299235 Barwon Downs, Victoria, to my mobile, and had a recorded voice message saying Border Control had seized a package in my name. Immediately terminated the call.
Received a call today from 0447625074 pretending to be Australian border force with the exact scam above.
My husband received a phone call this morning from a NSW landline number. After laughing at the message he hung up. Cant be bothered with them at all. Can give you landline number if required, we did not try to call back.
Just got one of these calls this morning from a mobile number similar to mine Asian lady standing in a very windy area I refused to give her any details as I pointed out to her she rang me I stated I would ring Border Force direct she hung up I could not be bothered playing with these fools today
I received this exact border force phone call from this number: 03 8238 4353I did not press 1 and just hung up.
I received a call from an automated voice saying they were from Border Force, saying a parcel of mine had been seized and that a warrant had been issued for my arrest. I pressed '1' on the keypad to discuss the matter. An Asian woman asked me for my tracking number.. Coincidently, I actually did have a parcel seized 2 weeks ago which has now been released but I am also expecting another parcel which I suspect will also be seized.. so this phone call I received had me concerned.. The number I got the call from was 07 3774 4194. The Asian girl asked me for the tracking number.. So, I said to her.. 'How about you tell me what the tracking number is seeing as though you were the one calling me', 'How do I know this is not a scam?' - The caller then hung up. I called the number back but it dials out..
Had you received anything from DHL prior to this? I have been called with the same automated message. I have recently two packages from overseas delivered from DHL.
I just got this same call, just hung up as soon as they started talking about arrest because what a load of bull, but I did get a delivery from DHL last week!
A few minutes ago I received a call to my mobile from an automated voice claiming to be from the Australian Border force, saying a package had been received that contained illegal items, the parcel had been seized and an arrest warrant had been issued for my arrest. It came from this phone number 0418 598813
A few minutes ago I received a call to my mobile from an automated voice claiming to be from the Australian Border force, saying a package had been received that contained illegal items, the parcel had been seized and an arrest warrant had been issued for my arrest. It came from this phone number 0417612673.
What did you do?
I got the same call earlier today from this phone number 0408934464. I didn't wait to hear what they wanted past the parcel being seized.
Same as above, received a call from Mobile with 2 digits different from mine. Blocked call and sent details to scamwatch.
received one from (02) 4328 9342 at 3:04pm on 20/09/2021
A few minutes ago I received a call to mobile from an automated voice claiming to be from the Australian Border force. I hung up immediately and then proceeded to turn off my phone ( as I do after any suspicious calls) however my phone will not turn on again?
Call to mobile from automated voice claiming to be from Australian Border force re: suspicious parcel with my name and address. Also said a warrant was issued for my arrest if I didn't press 1 for more information. The caller number displayed was 0424187226. I hung up.
10 min ago. Call to mobile from automated voice claiming to be from Australian Border force re: suspicious parcel with my name and address. Also said a warrant was issued for my arrest if I didn't press 1 for more information. The caller number displayed was 0353268532. I hung up.
I received two scam calls like this today. Both were from mobile numbers that were only 2 digits away from being identical to mine. I reported to scam watch and blocked the numbers.
I have to answer all calls because of illness in the family and I get many calls from doctors and nurses. Yesterday I received about 6 calls, all from different or "private number". All were the same auto voice claiming to be from the Australian Border Force regarding "suspicious" parcels addressed to me. I will no longer answer any "private" or unknown numbers and hope the genuine medical people will leave a message. It sucks that at this extremely sad and challenging part of my life I am unable to use my phone freely. These monsters have got to be stopped.