Ghanaian threat to Queensland business

Australian police are urging small businesses to be wary of overseas fraudsters using stolen credit cards and virtual office businesses to purchase and ship items to Ghana.

Detective Superintendent Brian Hay said off shore criminals were making thousands of dollars worth of purchases from businesses across Australia using stolen credit cards.

Having purchased items such as computers, mobile phones, computer games consoles and clothing, the fraudsters have the items delivered to virtual office business addresses.

Superintendent Hay said the criminals then have the products freighted to another destination, usually overseas, using skimmed international credit cards to pay the virtual businesses operators.

At least four Queensland virtual offices have been targeted in the scam, unknowingly used as a middle man by fraudsters.

"It makes the merchant more comfortable if they think they are delivering to a nationally based customer, so they are less likely to arouse suspicion if they were to send say a laptop to Ghana directly," he said.

None of the businesses involved have sighted any of their clients and in nearly all cases the packages have been requested to be sent to the African nation.

Businesses have been warned to be wary of clients using different credit card details until their invoice is settled.

Alarm bells should also sound for businesses if the client is overseas or claims to be interstate, the credit card used has an overseas pin and the items have to be reshipped overseas.

"We want people involved in the virtual offices industry conducting business with people overseas to contact police right away if they are required to on-forward property," Superintendent Hay said.

In some cases fraudsters have used personal details of Australian residents obtained from social network sites to set up their virtual office.

Nationwide investigations into the activity have found more than $30,000 in goods have been fraudulently obtained.