Beware SCAM flights after DFAT registration

[Island]

HI, 

I registered for DFAT residents wishing to return home to oz.

Then i got an email saying there are qantas flights in May, follow the link and you have to pay immidiately.

At first I was pretty excited that flights are up and running again - but on second thoughts, think this is probably a scam - what do you think?

 

Email address it comes from is 

Consular.LhLh@dfat.gov.au

[Island]

There are reports that Australians overseas are being contacted by someone claiming to be from DFAT, offering flights and requesting credit card information. DFAT will never request payment over the phone.

[Nyxkat]

Yep definitely a scam. There should only be gov.au after the @ if its official government stuff. Scammers often make fake domains that look somewhat official to seem like they are the real thing.

[Nemesis]

3 hours ago, Island said:

HI, 

I registered for DFAT residents wishing to return home to oz.

Then i got an email saying there are qantas flights in May, follow the link and you have to pay immidiately.

At first I was pretty excited that flights are up and running again - but on second thoughts, think this is probably a scam - what do you think?

 

Email address it comes from is 

Consular.LhLh@dfat.gov.au

https://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/consular.html

If you require consular assistance while in the UK you can contact the Australian High Commission, Consular Office in London between 9am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday on 020 7887 5776. Alternatively, you can email us at: consular.lhlh@dfat.gov.au 

 

Seems fairly kosher to me

 

[Skani]

7 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

. Alternatively, you can email us at: consular.lhlh@dfat.gov.au 

Seems fairly kosher to me

Not kosher at all:  that is not identical to the email address in the OP's post  which has capitalisation of some of the letters.  The true origin of the email may be revealed if the "View Source" option is opened on the email.

If in doubt the OP should ring the Consular Office to check.  Late last year scammers were targeting  prospective travellers by impersonating DFAT staff by phone and requesting immediate payment.  Somehow they managed to use the official DFAT switchboard number as the ID calling number.  

[Loopylu]

I have received details of 6 flights in May since registering recently with DFAT as a fallback return option.  I cited my need to return to Australia sooner rather than later as my husband is about to start dialysis. I had to travel to the UK in March on compassionate grounds.  I already have a return flight booked with Singapore Airlines on 16 May but apparently the airlines liaise with DFAT to see who to bump off already purchased flights....

Anyway, the emails I have received look official and have come from this email address: Consular.LhLh@dfat.gov.au. Suggest you check whether the ones you have received come from the same email address.

Hope this helps.

[Loopylu]

8 hours ago, Nyxkat said:

Yep definitely a scam. There should only be gov.au after the @ if its official government stuff. Scammers often make fake domains that look somewhat official to seem like they are the real thing.

The one the original poster cited had dfat.gov.au at the end..... 

[Loopylu]

12 hours ago, Island said:

HI, 

I registered for DFAT residents wishing to return home to oz.

Then i got an email saying there are qantas flights in May, follow the link and you have to pay immidiately.

At first I was pretty excited that flights are up and running again - but on second thoughts, think this is probably a scam - what do you think?

 

Email address it comes from is 

Consular.LhLh@dfat.gov.au

As per my previous posts I think these are genuine.  The offering of these flights has coincided with the UN requesting that Australia pull its finger out in repatriating citizens....

[Nyxkat]

2 hours ago, Loopylu said:

The one the original poster cited had dfat.gov.au at the end..... 

Ahh I didn't realise dfat was an official thing, that makes loads more sense *facepalm*

[Marisawright]

11 hours ago, Nyxkat said:

Yep definitely a scam. There should only be gov.au after the @ if its official government stuff. Scammers often make fake domains that look somewhat official to seem like they are the real thing.

Not true.  Most government departments are set up with an email address in the format "@departmentname.gov.au".  For instance, dfat.gov.au, centrelink.gov.au, and so on.

[rtritudr]

18 hours ago, Skani said:

Not kosher at all:  that is not identical to the email address in the OP's post  which has capitalisation of some of the letters.  The true origin of the email may be revealed if the "View Source" option is opened on the email.

Email addresses are not case sensitive.  Therefore you cannot judge whether the email is genuine based on differing capitalisations alone.  However, even genuine email addresses can be forged so please exercise caution as you would normally.

If you have doubts about an email's veracity, try to make contact with the sender to verify.

[Nemesis]

18 hours ago, Skani said:

Not kosher at all:  that is not identical to the email address in the OP's post  which has capitalisation of some of the letters.  The true origin of the email may be revealed if the "View Source" option is opened on the email.

If in doubt the OP should ring the Consular Office to check.  Late last year scammers were targeting  prospective travellers by impersonating DFAT staff by phone and requesting immediate payment.  Somehow they managed to use the official DFAT switchboard number as the ID calling number.  

Its the official email address for contacting DFAT or whatever their current name is (Dept Foreign Affairs and Trade). Capitalisation in  email addresses is irrelevant. 

Another example for you is a tweet from the department back in December 

 If you are flying in the next 14 days on an affected service through Singapore or Hong Kong, please email us at Consular.LHLH@dfat.gov.au with: — 'Singapore/Hong Kong Transit Disruption' in the subject line. — booking reference and airline in the body of your message.

 

My friend who returned several months ago on a repat flight arranged via this email address is now highly amused to find it was organised by a scammer as it all went very smoothly.

Edited April 25, 2021 by Nemesis

[Skani]

2 hours ago, Nemesis said:

IMy friend who returned several months ago on a repat flight arranged via this email address is now highly amused to find it was organised by a scammer as it all went very smoothly.

My suspicions about the original post arose from the "follow the link and you have to pay immidiately".

There may have been more (and more nuanced)  detail which proved its authenticity but it wasn't available in this post.  And both DFAT and Qantas confirmed there was a scam targeting   returnees stranded in India which tried to scam credit card details for fraudulent bookings.     However, as with all potential scams, if in doubt don't "follow the link" and check independently with the appropriate authority.

[Nyxkat]

12 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Not true.  Most government departments are set up with an email address in the format "@departmentname.gov.au".  For instance, dfat.gov.au, centrelink.gov.au, and so on.

Yeah I realised thus and posted above x

[Loopylu]

2 hours ago, Nyxkat said:

Yeah I realised thus and posted above x

I just received another DFAT email today advising as follows:

You are receiving this email as you have registered with DFAT as currently located in the United Kingdom or Ireland and may wish to access the below flights. A number of seats remain available on the facilitated commercial flights departing London to Darwin on:

• 2 May
• 3 May
• 12 May
• 15 May
• 16 May
• 24 May

There should be no expectation of frequently run facilitated flights from the UK in the coming months.  The location and schedule of future facilitated commercial flights is yet to be announced, and will target those locations with the largest cohorts of vulnerable Australians trying to return home, especially where there is a lack of commercial alternatives.  Please carefully consider whether these flights would meet your requirements if you wish to return to Australia, as we cannot guarantee extended notice or ongoing high frequency of flights from the United Kingdom.  

Please note we also cannot guarantee extended notice periods on facilitated flights, which are subject to operational approvals.   If you wish to return to Australia and do not wish to take this flight, or require an extended notice period before a flight, you will need to seek commercial options via scheduled flights with other airlines.

If you have already made alternative arrangements with another airline in the coming weeks, you may wish to seek to confirm your booking is secured and if your flight has been delayed or cancelled, consider taking this flight as a guaranteed opportunity to return to Australia.

 

[Island]

Thanks for all your replies - there are warnings on the dfat website that these scams are occurring - so I'm 99% sure it is in fact a scam.  Have emailed them and will post reply once I get it..

[Nemesis]

17 hours ago, Loopylu said:

I just received another DFAT email today advising as follows:

You are receiving this email as you have registered with DFAT as currently located in the United Kingdom or Ireland and may wish to access the below flights. A number of seats remain available on the facilitated commercial flights departing London to Darwin on:

• 2 May
• 3 May
• 12 May
• 15 May
• 16 May
• 24 May

There should be no expectation of frequently run facilitated flights from the UK in the coming months.  The location and schedule of future facilitated commercial flights is yet to be announced, and will target those locations with the largest cohorts of vulnerable Australians trying to return home, especially where there is a lack of commercial alternatives.  Please carefully consider whether these flights would meet your requirements if you wish to return to Australia, as we cannot guarantee extended notice or ongoing high frequency of flights from the United Kingdom.  

Please note we also cannot guarantee extended notice periods on facilitated flights, which are subject to operational approvals.   If you wish to return to Australia and do not wish to take this flight, or require an extended notice period before a flight, you will need to seek commercial options via scheduled flights with other airlines.

If you have already made alternative arrangements with another airline in the coming weeks, you may wish to seek to confirm your booking is secured and if your flight has been delayed or cancelled, consider taking this flight as a guaranteed opportunity to return to Australia.

 

As this is exactly the email that has been received by many others after registering for repat flights, can you confirm what email address it came from - could help with others trying to identify scammers?

[Nemesis]

22 hours ago, Skani said:

My suspicions about the original post arose from the "follow the link and you have to pay immidiately".

There may have been more (and more nuanced)  detail which proved its authenticity but it wasn't available in this post.  And both DFAT and Qantas confirmed there was a scam targeting   returnees stranded in India which tried to scam credit card details for fraudulent bookings.     However, as with all potential scams, if in doubt don't "follow the link" and check independently with the appropriate authority.

Agreed, following a link is always dodgy, and definitely would need research before handing over cash, but the email address is kosher, its a main one in use for repat flights and travel info. Replying to the address would be better than following a link. 

Edited April 26, 2021 by Nemesis

[Loopylu]

3 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

As this is exactly the email that has been received by many others after registering for repat flights, can you confirm what email address it came from - could help with others trying to identify scammers?

Sure - it is flights.assist@dfat.gov.au.

 

[Wanderer Returns]

If you Google the email address Consular.LhLh@dfat.gov.au you will find that it appears several times on the Australian High Commission's UK website.

https://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/consular.html

https://uk.highcommission.gov.au/lhlh/NonCovidInfo.html

That should be pretty conclusive!

[Nemesis]

3 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

If you Google the email address Consular.LhLh@dfat.gov.au you will find that it appears several times on the Australian High Commission's UK website.

https://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/consular.html

https://uk.highcommission.gov.au/lhlh/NonCovidInfo.html

That should be pretty conclusive!

I did try (unsuccessfully) to point this out earlier - People seemed to think that the different capitalisations in the email meant it wasn't the same.....

[Wanderer Returns]

6 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

I did try (unsuccessfully) to point this out earlier - People seemed to think that the different capitalisations in the email meant it wasn't the same.....

I noticed you had. You were very polite about it too, and managed to avoid phrases like "stating the bleedin' obvious."  

[Island]

HI All thanks for your replies, I emailed DFAT directly through the website - and they replied and said the email I had received was genuine.  I am really shocked to be honest, was so sure it was a scam.  To me it looked like a scam and sounded a bit like a scam  - saying 'you will need to pay immidiately' raised alarm bells. Also I've just heard so many stories of aussies desperate to get home and thousands stranded etc- so again alarm bells when I get an offer to get back next month after only applying to DFAT a week earlier.  How sad that I'm so paranoid, bad experiences in the past I guess.  Sorry if I worried anyone 

[Wanderer Returns]

23 hours ago, Island said:

HI All thanks for your replies, I emailed DFAT directly through the website - and they replied and said the email I had received was genuine.  I am really shocked to be honest, was so sure it was a scam.  To me it looked like a scam and sounded a bit like a scam  - saying 'you will need to pay immidiately' raised alarm bells. Also I've just heard so many stories of aussies desperate to get home and thousands stranded etc- so again alarm bells when I get an offer to get back next month after only applying to DFAT a week earlier.  How sad that I'm so paranoid, bad experiences in the past I guess.  Sorry if I worried anyone 

The email address you quote was on the government website so that was a pretty good indicator that it wasn't a scam, but you did the right thing by following it through for your own peace of mind - always better to be safe than sorry. And I'd agree that receiving any communication that says you need to pay for something immediately is always going to raise alarm bells in this day and age!