The phone at her home in Cundletown rings constantly with marketing calls but lately there is one call that worries her – it is a scam and she fears Manning Valley people may lose money.

Nancy does not want her identity made public, she already suspects there is too much personal information out there about her.

On Tuesday afternoon she says she received a call from a person reportedly from the Do Not Call Register.

The register is an Australian database where individuals and organisations can register, check or remove their telephone, mobile and fax numbers to opt out of receiving most unsolicited telemarketing calls and faxes.

Nancy said she registered her home and mobile numbers with the database in 2014 but in recent months had been receiving six to eight calls a day from marketing companies, and also a few scammers.

However, she says this call was different. 

“They told me my full name, address and even my date of birth,” Nancy said.

“They then asked me to confirm the bank I used, asked if I had a credit card and tried to confirm details.

“I don’t know how they got all that information but it alarmed me.

“I knew it was a scam but I then called the Do Not Call Register to check if they were calling people and the answer was no.”

Phishing scams are the most common scam, according to Scamwatch—reports are 63 per cent higher than the next most popular category and statistics also show that Australians aged over 65 years are particularly vulnerable to this scam.

“Scammers use phishing to trick their victims into giving out valuable personal information such as their bank account numbers, passwords, credit card numbers or even their online passwords for their PayPal, Apple or social media accounts. Any personal information you have is potentially valuable to a scammer and they will try to get it off you in a variety of ways,” Australian Competition and Consumer Commission acting chair Delia Rickard said.

“The vast majority come either via the phone or email. The scammers will pretend to be representatives of well-known organisations, like a bank, phone company or government department like Centrelink or the Australian Tax Office to give them the air of legitimacy.

“We’re so used to providing our personal information when we sign up for services over the phone or shop online that sometimes we don’t think twice about giving it out.

“However it’s very important you closely guard your personal information. Delete any email or hang up on a phone call that you receive out of the blue that is asking for your personal information—even if it purports to be from a well-known business or government organisation that you have previously dealt with and trust.”