Posts in Featured

$430K stolen from Melbourne High School to feed a gambling addiction. Gobbill can prevent such fraud says CEO and former school’s old boy.

March 7th, 2023 Posted by Gobbill Business Management, Featured, Financial Management, Fraud Prevention, Payments 0 thoughts on “$430K stolen from Melbourne High School to feed a gambling addiction. Gobbill can prevent such fraud says CEO and former school’s old boy.”

A former business manager of Melbourne High School has been jailed after stealing more than $430,000 from her employer to feed an out-of-control gambling addiction.

Frances Walshe’s first theft in early 2012 went unnoticed by the school because of a poor financial governance model that gave the 65-year-old unchecked access to its bank accounts.

Over the following decade, Walshe made a further 263 illegal transactions, stealing $432,546 from the school’s coffers to feed an out-of-control gambling addiction.

Schools, clubs, not-for-profits and other organisations can’t rely on trusting one person who has banking access. For less than $50 per month, a subscription to Gobbill automates accounts payable saving time and costs. It reduces the need to access Internet Banking for making payments, and eliminates or reduces the risk of internal and external fraud.

Shendon Ewans – Gobbill CEO and a Melbourne High School ‘Old Boy’ says that this type of crime could have been prevented. For such a school where funds are so important and fundraising can be very difficult at times, it is disappointing for the school’s management to not have the proper check and balances.

Find out how Gobbill can protect your organisation – school, club or private business.

Contact Gobbill https://gobbill.com/contact/

*Image Source: ABC News. Frances Walshe (right) has been sentenced to two years’ jail after stealing thousands of dollars from Melbourne High.(ABC News: Kristian Silva)*

Tags: accounting, finance, fraud, payments

Invoice Fraud – Is your business Protected? What is it worth to you?

April 7th, 2020 Posted by Gobbill Featured, Internet Safety, Payments, Staysmartonline 0 thoughts on “Invoice Fraud – Is your business Protected? What is it worth to you?”

07/04/2020
Police Arrests following Invoice Fraud
NSW Police last week arrested and charged two men over their alleged involvement in a $2.6 million Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam syndicate. The scam involved sending altered invoices to businesses who unknowingly paid the scammers into their accounts.

One of the men is believed by police to be the leader of the syndicate and faces charges related to directing a criminal group. Police allege he gained more than $1.6 million, and unsuccessfully tried to gain nearly another $1 million through email scams from mid-2018 until early this year.

Commander of the NSW Cybercrime Squad, Matthew Craft, said cybercrime presents “a unique challenge for law enforcement”.
“These arrests are a timely reminder for all individuals and businesses to have strong cyber security measures in place for protection,” Craft said.

“During this investigation, officers uncovered a criminal network targeting hard-working Australian businesses through a series of sophisticated email scams,” Det Supt Craft said.
Police charged three other people last year in relation to the same investigation.

Business email compromise scams
Business email compromise (BEC) scams – where finance staff are deceived into paying fake invoices –are becoming increasingly common.

In 2018 alone, it was estimated that Australian businesses lost more than $60 million from this type of scam.

An ice rink in Sydney’s South West fell victim to a BEC scam earlier this year after receiving changed payment details for a new ice resurfacer it was purchasing, transferring $77,000 into an unknown Hungarian bank account.

Currently, the COVID-19 outbreak is creating a new set of challenges for businesses trying to shore up their cyber defences. There has been a rise in the number of coronavirus-related scams in recent weeks. With many Australian businesses trying to operate remotely to help encourage social distancing, networks could be more vulnerable as they are spread away from centralised IT systems.

How can you protect your business?
The Australian Cyber Security Centre has a list of strategies to mitigate the effects of cyber-attacks during the COVID-19, but one of the simplest steps business owners or accountants/bookkeepers can take to reduce their risk is to implement Gobbill as their accounts payable solution.

Gobbill is a simple, affordable bill payment automation and fraud protection tool that protects users from scams like Business Email Compromise. Our unique Know Your Biller process checks every document before it is scheduled to be paid, and intervenes to stop payment of any bills which are suspicious or have been tampered with.

Plans start from $25 per month, with a free 1 month trial on our small business plan.

To arrange a demo contact [email protected] or call 0444 599 715.

Source Articles: https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2020/police-arrest-men-over–2-6m-email-scam.html
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/australians-arrested-over-26m/

Tags: cybersecurity, fraud, scams, staysafeonline

Alert Priority HIGH: Widespread reports of COVID-19 malicious scams being sent to Australians

March 27th, 2020 Posted by Gobbill Alerts, Featured, Staysmartonline 0 thoughts on “Alert Priority HIGH: Widespread reports of COVID-19 malicious scams being sent to Australians”

27 March 2020

What’s happened?
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) is aware of a significant increase in Australians being targeted with COVID-19 related scams and phishing emails.

In the last three months, the ACSC and the Australian Competition and the Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch has received over 140 reports from individuals and businesses across Australia.

These phishing emails are often sophisticated, preying on people’s desire for information and imitating trusted and well-known organisations or government agencies.

Clicking on these malicious links or visiting fake websites may automatically install computer viruses or malware and ransomware onto your device, giving cyber criminals the ability to steal your financial and personal information.

These scams are likely to increase over the coming weeks and months and the ACSC strongly encourages organisations and individuals to remain alert.

Here are some examples of what to look out for now:
Example 1: SMS phishing scam messages offering where to get tested for COVID-19 or how to protect yourself In these examples, the SMS appears to come from ‘GOV’ or ‘GMAIL’, with a malicious link to find out where to get tested in your local area.

Scamwatch and the ACSC is also aware of a SMS scam using the sender identification of ‘myGov.’ These scam messages are appearing in the same conversation threads as previous official SMS messages you may have received from myGov.
Example 2: COVID-19 phishing email impersonating Australia Post to steal personal information
Under the pretence of providing advice about travelling to countries with confirmed cases of COVID-19, this phishing email aims to trick you into visiting a website that will steal your personal and financial information.
Once they have your personal information, the scammers can open bank accounts or credit cards in your name, often using these stolen funds to purchase luxury items or transfer the money into untraceable crypto-currencies such as bitcoin.
  Example 3: Phishing emails pretending to be an international health sector organisation
This is an example of one COVID-19 themed phishing email where the sender is pretending to be a well-known international health organisation. The email prompts you to click on the web link to access information about new cases of the virus in your local area, or to open an attachment for advice on safety measures to prevent the spread.

Example 4: Phishing emails containing malicious attachments In this example, the phishing email is pretending to be from the World Health Organization and prompts you to open an attachment for advice on safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. When opened, the attached file contains malicious software that automatically downloads onto your device, providing the scammer with ongoing access to your device.
Example 5: COVID-19 relief payment scam Scammers are also sending phishing emails targeting an increasing number of Australians that are seeking to work from home, wanting to help with relief efforts or requiring financial assistance if they find themselves out of work. In this example, the email offers recipients $2,500 in ‘COVID-19 assistance’ payments if they complete an attached application form. Opening the attachment may download malicious software onto your device. How do I stay safe?The ACSC has produced a detailed report, including practical cyber security advice that organisations and individuals can follow to reduce the risk of harm.

You can read the report and protect yourself by following these simple steps:Read the message carefully, and look for anything that isn’t quite right, such as tracking numbers, names, attachment names, sender, message subject and hyperlinks.If unsure, call the organisation on their official number, as it appears on their website and double check the details or confirm that the request is legitimate. Do not contact the phone number or email address contained in the message, as this most likely belongs to the scammer.Use sources such as the organisation’s mobile phone app, web site or social media page to verify the message. Often large organisations, like Australia Post, will have scam alert pages on their websites, with details of current known scams using their branding, to watch out for.If you’ve received one of these messages and you’ve clicked on the link, or you’re concerned your personal details have been compromised, contact your financial institution immediately.
More informationIf you’ve suffered financial loss from cybercrime, report it to ReportCyber at www.cyber.gov.au/report.

Visit cyber.gov.au for advice to help businesses stay secure from cyber threats, whilst managing a remote workforce.

To stay up to date on the latest online threats and how to respond, sign up to the Stay Smart Online Alert Service, www.staysmartonline.gov.au/alert-service.

More advice and support is available on our Get help page.

For information on the COVID-19 pandemic, visit https://www.health.gov.au    The information provided here is of a general nature. Everyone’s circumstances are different. If you require specific advice you should contact your local technical support provider. Feedback
Thank you to those subscribers who have provided feedback to our Alerts and Newsletters. We are very interested in your feedback and where possible take on board your suggestions or requests.

Disclaimer
This information has been prepared by the ACSC. It was accurate and up to date at the time of publishing.
This information is general information only and is intended for use by private individuals and small to medium sized businesses. If you are concerned about a specific cyber security issue you should seek professional advice.
The Commonwealth and all other persons associated with this advisory accept no liability for any damage, loss or expense incurred as a result of the provision of this information, whether by way of negligence or otherwise.
Nothing in this information (including the listing of a person or organisation or links to other web sites) should be taken as an endorsement of a particular product or service.
Please note that third party views or recommendations included in this information do not reflect the views of the Commonwealth, or indicate its commitment to a particular course of action. The Commonwealth also cannot verify the accuracy of any third party material included in this information.

More details: https://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/alert-service/widespread-reports-covid-19-malicious-scams-being-sent-australians

CONTACT US
Facebook: www.facebook.com/staysmartonline
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.staysmartonline.gov.au
You are receiving this message at the address [email protected].
If you no longer wish to receive this information, you can unsubscribe. © 2020 Australian Government.All rights reserved.

Tags: cybersecurity, fraud, scams, staysafeonline

AirPay FinTech and Gobbill embeds Alipay & WeChat payments in media platform for 1M+ users to process Australian bills

March 24th, 2020 Posted by Gobbill Alerts, Featured, Financial Management, Gobbill News, Media Releases 0 thoughts on “AirPay FinTech and Gobbill embeds Alipay & WeChat payments in media platform for 1M+ users to process Australian bills”

Australian fintech AirPay and bill payment automation company Gobbill to launch a new app feature for 1+ million users.
The “ToPay” feature is available via Chinese media app Today Australia, allowing Australian bills to be paid with WeChat Pay and Alipay.

Melbourne, Australia 24 March, 2020 – Fraud detection and payment automation company Gobbill and Chinese mobile payment company AirPay, have embedded Alipay and WeChat payments into a popular media platform to allow users to pay Australian bills with China’s favourite payment methods.

Over one million users will have the capability to pay Australian bills with WeChat Pay and Alipay, with a market-first feature called “ToPay” in popular Chinese media app, Today Australia.

The ‘ToPay’ feature will allow Today Australia users pay and categorise bills including phone, utilities, school fees, council rates and more, within a single app.

Users will also receive rewards scheme, such as discount meals via popular Asian food delivery platform Hungry Panda.

AirPay Head of FinTech Simon Tse said: “We are thrilled to announce our industry collaboration with Gobbill to provide Australian-Chinese a seamless and secure way to pay bills via smartphone. Our new payment platform “ToPay” helps us open new verticals, in addition to our wide QR payments coverage in high-end retail brands such as Gucci, Victoria’s Secret, Sneakerboy, Champion, Glue Store owned by Kering group, Valiram group, LRG group, Hanes Brands and Next Athleisure”.

“Chinese sales across retail are down 30-50 per cent this month, and we predict it will be a difficult financial year for many companies. Our next goal is to drive one million Chinese consumers to merchants via the everyday usage of our app” said Tse.

Gobbill CEO and co-founder Shendon Ewans said: “The timing is right to bring the two technologies together to process Chinese payments in Australia. We expect the convenience of making payments through a media app and associated rewards as an advantage.”

The payments function will be enabled by Gobbill as part of the company’s growth into the broader payments sector, particularly in connecting global markets with seamless and secure payments. Using AI automation, Gobbill forensically extracts data from invoices, checks for fraud and executes the payments.

For more information, contact via email [email protected] or [email protected]

-ENDS-

About Gobbill

Gobbill is a fraud detection and payment automation service designed for small businesses and busy households to save time, maximise cash flow and protect against scams and fraud. The end-to-end AI platform gives users control over payments with minimal effort. Gobbill forensically extracts data from invoices, checks for fraud using its proprietary “Know Your Biller™” fraud detection technology and automatically executes payments.

Cybercrime and invoice fraud has increased 7 fold in the last 3 years. UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) calls an “epidemic” of 3.8 million fraud cases reported in 2019. FBI is concerned with the issue growing to an estimated $5 trillion in losses by 2024.

Leveraging over 3 years of R&D, Gobbill can pay bills issued from over 40,000 Australian providers. The company is a Microsoft Startup sponsored company, a partner of the Australian Government’s cyber safety initiative, AI partner of Silverpond and member of Stone & Chalk. Gobbill is an Authorised Representative (1261196) of Australian Financial Services Licence Holder (448066). Gobbill’s UK office is based at the Royal Bank & NatWest FinTech Accelerator.

About AirPay Financial Technologies

AirPay is FinTech based in Melbourne with offices in Shanghai and Sydney providing one-stop mobile payment and marketing solution for merchants to accept and promote QR payments. AirPay is also integrated with Shopify to allow online retailers to accept Alipay and WeChat Pay seamlessly. The company is invested by SwiftPass Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of a China listed company and is a member of FinTech Australia.

About Today Australia

Media Today Group (also known as “Today Australia”) http://mediatodaygroup.com is Australia’s largest Chinese Internet “new media” platform delivered through an in-App experience, WeChat Official Account and WeChat Moment.

The group owns Internet media in five major cities: Sydney Today, Melbourne Today, Queensland Today, Adelaide Today, Perth Today, and two vertical Internet platforms: Australian Real Estate Today and Tourism Today.

Since its establishment on April 29, 2010, the group has been adhering to the business philosophy of “best-looking news and most practical information” and has gradually become the most influential and brand-value composite Chinese media group in the Australian Chinese community.

Tags: alipay, bills, chinese, payments, wechat

Gobbill and Cointree partnership enables automated bill payments with cryptocurrencies.

August 20th, 2018 Posted by Gobbill Featured, Gobbill News, Media Releases, Startup 0 thoughts on “Gobbill and Cointree partnership enables automated bill payments with cryptocurrencies.”

Melbourne, Australia 20^th August, 2018 – Bill payment AI-automation company Gobbill, has today announced it has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange and digital wallet company Cointree, enabling users to pay bills with their cryptocurrencies.

The global alliance will allow users from both platforms to pay household bills using their crypto coins stored in Cointree’s wallet. Cointree’s platform supports a wide range of digital currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and more.

Gobbill’s platform users can also link a crypto wallet in their account and elect to pay their bills either by credit card, bank account or a specified cryptocurrency regardless of whether the biller accepts the desired payment method.

Shendon Ewans, CEO and co-founder of Gobbill, said the partnership would add significant value to customers who were increasingly looking to adopt digital currencies. The partnership aims to enable households and small businesses to easily and safely pay any bill with any coin.

“Digital currencies are becoming mainstream, and our view at Gobbill is to support customer choice and convenience. We anticipate a surge in the number of customers who would like to pay their bills in crypto in the coming years. Our partnership with Cointree will cater to this market and ensure Gobbill continues to remain ahead of the curve when it comes to allowing our users to pay their bills automatically, while knowing they’re protected from fraud and scams,” he said.

“We are excited at Cointree to be partnering with Gobbill,” said Cointree CEO, Shane Stevenson. “This is a great opportunity for both companies to leverage our strengths and enable Australians to pay everyday bills with their choice of digital currencies.”

The announcement comes following Cointree’s launch of a new and refreshed platform and is looking to expand into international markets. The partnership between Gobbill and Cointree supports both companies’ international expansion into new markets. The announcement also builds on Gobbill’s recent partnership announcements with iSignthis (ASX:ISX) for eKYC and payment processing, and wealth management leader myprosperity, which will see Gobbill rolled out broadly to users via white-label agreements in Australia and overseas.

Gobbill has been bootstrapped funded to date and is seeking investment to support its commercial growth.

— END —

About Gobbill Australia Pty Ltd

Gobbill™ is a digital finance assistant that automates bill payments using artificial intelligence for households and small businesses. Users are protected from online scams, avoid late fees, maximise discounts and protect their credit rating scores. Small businesses have the additional benefit of digitising invoices, scheduling payments and synchronising data with their accounting software.

After two years of R&D, the company launched its automated bill payment process for public use. It is now investing further R&D in AI to help customers easily switch service providers and save money using its One-Click-Switch™ method.

Founded in 2015, Gobbill can pay bills issued from any Australian provider including utilities, telecommunications, council rates, insurance and more. The company is a Microsoft Startup sponsored company, a partner of the Australian Government’s cyber safety initiative, AI partner of Silverpond and member of Stone & Chalk. Gobbill is an Authorised Representative (1261196) of Australian Financial Services Licence Holder (448066).

For further information, see gobbill.com or contact the team at: [email protected]

For media inquiries, contact Account Director, Laura Blue at: [email protected]

About Cointree

Cointree is one of Australia’s leading digital currency exchanges. It aims to support the widest range of crypto currency coins. Founded in 2013, the Melbourne based company has over 50,000 members and transacted over AU$100m worth in digital currencies. The company focuses on making cryptocurrency trading a simple, quick and secure experience. It achieves this by providing learning recourses and useful trading tools in everyday language, and jargon free to its members.

Cointree is a registered digital currency exchange with AUSTRAC (the Australian Government regulatory and monitoring body for AML/CTF) and a partner of the not-for-profit Blockchain Centre.

Read more about the company at our website cointree.com.

For media inquiries, please contact [email protected]

Tags: coin, cryptocurrency, digital currency, fintech, payment, startup

The Australian: Gobbill partnerships fit the bill

June 5th, 2018 Posted by Gobbill Featured, Financial Management, Gobbill News, Startup 0 thoughts on “The Australian: Gobbill partnerships fit the bill”

The Australian reports on Gobbill’s two partnership announcements with myprosperity as a distribution partner and iSignthis Ltd (ASX: ISX | DE: TA8) as a global identity and payments provider. We’re all working hard to create better financial solutions that empower our customers; giving them choice and control over their finances. No one likes to be scammed or taken advantaged of when it comes to our finances. Gobbill was started up for Australian families and small businesses to help and protect their finances.

We’ll keep persisting and need your help! Join us (sign up or invest) at https://gobbill.com

Read more in The Australian https://lnkd.in/enD6CJg

AFR – Gobbill is a clever way for business owners to save time

June 1st, 2018 Posted by Gobbill Case Studies, Featured, Gobbill News, Time Management 0 thoughts on “AFR – Gobbill is a clever way for business owners to save time”

Finding clever ways to accomplish more in a time-pressed business day can be the difference between getting through that endless list of tasks, or not.

Using Gobbill to automate payments is one way.

Manually going through and paying bills can eat into a huge chunk of your week. Which is why businesses are automating payments and using digital tools.

Premier Health Partners owner Paul O’Keefe introduced Gobbill, a digital service that schedules and automates bill and invoice payments.

“Throughout the year, Gobbill produces reports that separates GST and categorises bills into accounts, so come quarterly reporting and annual tax reporting seasons, all admin burdens are removed,” he says. Source: Financial Review

The University of Melbourne interviews Gobbill co-founder Shendon Ewans

June 11th, 2017 Posted by Gobbill Business Management, Featured, Gobbill News, Startup 0 thoughts on “The University of Melbourne interviews Gobbill co-founder Shendon Ewans”

The University of Melbourne – Melbourne Business School interviews 2014 Master of Enterprise graduate Shendon Ewans about making bill payments a breeze. He shares about co-founding Gobbill with Quentin Marsh, his masters degree and management tips. “Have a go. You won’t know until you do. You’d be surprised at how many people are supportive and keen to help.”

Life Hack Tip #1 – Use robots to pay your bills. You have better things to do

June 5th, 2017 Posted by Gobbill Featured, Financial Management, Gobbill News, Time Management 0 thoughts on “Life Hack Tip #1 – Use robots to pay your bills. You have better things to do”

Our team of software robots love paying bills. Humans have better things to do like watch Netflix and cat videos online. They can even go on holidays, spend time with their family…and much more. Why not flick ’em to Gobbill. Bills gone. Watch Life Hack Tip #1.

Gobbill is free to use. Sign up today

ATO recognises Gobbill as an Early Stage Innovation Company reports Australian Fintech

May 18th, 2017 Posted by Gobbill Featured, Financial Management, Gobbill News, Startup 0 thoughts on “ATO recognises Gobbill as an Early Stage Innovation Company reports Australian Fintech”

The Australian Taxation Office has ruled that technology start-up company Gobbill satisfies the requirements to be an Early Stage Innovation Company (ESIC). “The ESIC rules, whilst offering major incentives to start-ups and investors alike are complex.” says EY’s R&D and Technology Incentives Partner Mark Chan. Read more…

About Australian FinTech

The Australian FinTech site is Australia’s only online space dedicated to promoting and discussing all things FinTech. Whether it be for Personal Finance, Payment Platforms, Apps, Venture Capital, Accelerators or Incubators, Australian FinTech has it covered. See australianfintech.com.au