Taiwanese payments scam affecting Australian consumers

A Sydney-based financial planning startup is warning Australians to check their credit or debit card statements after reports that people had been charged by a Taiwanese company they had not dealt with.

Pocketbook co-founder Bosco Tan said that Neweb Technology is a third party payments processor based out of Taiwan. Pocketbook users contacted Tan after been charged 1150 Taiwanese dollars (Australian $48). Some users had been charged this amount multiple times.

“We have found that this case relates to people who have either shopped online with an Asian merchant or have been to Singapore, Taiwan or China recently,” he said.

Tan added that the company conducted some research to find out where the payments scam was happening. “It seems to have occurred most often in Singapore. Two of the major banks in Singapore have started blocking transactions from Neweb Technology.”

He said he was alerting consumer affairs watchdog Scamwatch and banks in Australia about the problem today.

His advice for Australians who have travelled in Asia recently or purchased goods online was to look through their transactions.

“Anything with Neweb or Neweb Technologies Taiwan should be checked against the amount. If it is for the amount of 1150 Taiwanese dollars, contact your bank immediately.”

More details about the scam can be found on Pocketbook’s website.

In 2013, Pocketbook uncovered a taxi payments scam in New South Wales. At least 10 people received charges from a deregistered NSW company called F.F.G Holding Pty Ltd after having their card swiped manually while using taxis in the state.

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