Consumer Protection warns fake butcher profiles on | Australian Markets

Faux butcher profiles have been flooding area people pages, offering low cost meat and scamming people out of a whole bunch of {dollars}.

The latest scenario has prompted Shopper Safety to warn West Australians to be alert when searching for methods to slash their grocery invoice.

Shopper Safety commissioner Trish Blake stated she was involved these scammers had been capitalising on cost-of-living pressures.

“Meat is a significant expense for most families, making these scams particularly attractive during times of financial hardship,” she stated.

Some victims have misplaced more than $500.

Jay is a husband and father of two, and when he discovered the offer to buy good high quality meats in bulk on Fb, he thought it will be a great alternative to avoid wasting money.

The Northam man stated he communicated with the scammers over messenger, the place they supplied him a combined selection household pack for $360. He paid upfront and the supply by no means turned up.

“It’s not a small amount of money. Normally, I would buy meat from somewhere and keep it in the freezer because purchasing from the locals may be a bit dear,” Jay stated.

“It caused a bit of stress. And I think to myself, how I come to this trap.”

Jay shouldn’t be alone, many West Australians have fallen sufferer to those Fb scams.

Olivia was pleased when she noticed “Aussie butchers” delivering natural meat in bulk as a result of it was a likelihood to assist a small business and she or he and her accomplice dwell regionally.

“Up here with the wet season, you get blocked in from the Northern Territory side, as well as WA is quite a distance, so it’s about 30-hour drive or three-hour flight from Perth to Kununurra, so when the wet season comes sometimes you do have limited stock in the stores, that was the appeal,” she stated.

The Kununurra girl discovered the rip-off via a non-public neighborhood group on Fb, which had round 4000 members and needed admin approval for people to affix.

Olivia checked the feedback underneath the “butchers” pages to see in the event that they had been legit and delivered regionally. She contacted the suppliers on messenger and ordered $545 value of meat.

She realised she’d been scammed when the supply didn’t arrive and the scammers requested for a copy of her “authorised government card”.

Olivia was blocked by the scammers and by the Fb group she had joined.