// Scams & awareness
The fake PayID upgrade scam
What it looks like
You’ve listed something for sale on Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree. An old dining table, a fridge, a set of golf clubs. Within minutes a buyer messages you. They don’t haggle, they don’t ask to see it, they just want it, and they’d like to pay by PayID.
You send them your PayID (your mobile number or email). Soon after, an email arrives that looks like it’s from PayID:
“You have received a payment, but it cannot be released because your account is not a business account.”
In the first half of this year, buying and selling scams had more reports of money lost than any other kind, with over 7,600 people losing money.
How it plays out
The buyer messages again, apologetic. To fix the problem, they say, they’ve paid extra to “upgrade” your account to a business one. Could you send that extra amount back to them?
They’ll often send a screenshot of their “payment” as proof. It looks convincing. Some will say the upgrade cost hundreds of dollars and get pushy if you hesitate.
Once you send the money, they block you. No money ever came into your account. The email, the screenshot and the buyer were all fake.
Why it works
You’re the one selling, so you don’t expect to be the one losing money. The buyer seems keen and helpful, and sending back a “refund” feels like the honest thing to do. Scammers are also counting on the fact that PayID is still fairly new to a lot of people.
The giveaway
An email, text or message claiming to be from PayID. PayID never contacts you directly. It’s run through your bank.
Talk of a “business account” or “upgrade”. PayID is free and there’s nothing to upgrade.
Being asked to send money when you’re the seller.
A buyer who wants to move the chat to email, text or WhatsApp.
What to do
Only believe a payment when you see it in your own banking app. Not in an email, and not in a screenshot.
Keep the chat on the marketplace app, and report and block the buyer.
If you’d rather avoid all this, ask for cash when they pick it up.
Already sent money?
Call your bank straight away using the number on the back of your card. Then report the buyer to the marketplace and report the scam at scamwatch.gov.au.
// Quick tech tip
Fix the “iCloud storage is full” message
iCloud is Apple’s online storage. It keeps a copy of your photos and a backup of your phone, separate from the space on the phone itself. The free amount is small and fills up quickly.
iCloud Storage Bar
On an iPhone:
Open Settings, tap your name at the top, then iCloud.
Tap the storage bar (or Manage Account Storage) to see what’s using the space.
Tap Backups. If there’s a backup from a phone you no longer own, you can delete it.
Open Photos, scroll down to Utilities and tap Duplicates. Tap Merge to keep one copy of each.
Then go to Media Types, tap Videos, and delete long ones you don’t need. Videos take up far more room than photos.
Scroll to Recently Deleted and tap Delete All. Deleted photos still count for 30 days.
Still full? 50GB costs $1.49 a month. Go to Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage Account Storage > Change Storage Plan.
On an Android phone:
Android phones use Google storage instead of iCloud. You get 15GB free, shared across Gmail, Google Photos and Google Drive.
Open the Google One app (or visit one.google.com/storage).
Tap Storage to see what’s using the space.
Tap Free up account storage to find large files, old emails and deleted items to clear.
Apple and Google will only tell you storage is full on your phone itself. If an email or text says it and asks you to click a link, ignore it.
// This week’s habit to keep
A payment isn’t real until you see it in your own banking app. Never in an email, never in a screenshot.
That’s it for this week.
Let me know if there's something you want to know more about. Reply to this email, I read every one, and it might help someone else too.
Until next time,
John
P.S. If you found this useful, forward it someone you care about!
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