FOREIGN visitors and backpackers who get involved in a door-to-door artwork selling scam could face deportation, according to Industry and Consumer Services director Dave Hillyard.
As more northern suburbs residents fall victim to the latest wave of scammers, who sell $6 paintings from China for up to $250, Mr Hillyard urged anyone asked to buy a painting at their door to report it to the Department of Consumer Protection immediately.
“Most of those doing the selling are working in groups recruited from people who are on holidays or backpacking,” he said.
“The ones we were chasing last year were selling canvases door-to-door and offering to frame them for even bigger sums of money. We chased them down through Immigration and they seemed to disappear for a while.
“We have found the most successful way to deal with these cases is to confront the sellers, interview them and notify Immigration. Usually they disappear off the scene pretty quickly after that.
“Our main problem is finding them first, so it is really important for us to catch them while they are in the process of trying to sell. We need instantaneous reports.”
Mr Hillyard said selling the paintings at inflated prices did not breach the door-to-door trading act.
“It’s the claims or misrepresentations that they make – that they are a foreign art student trying to fund their education for example – which are in breach of the Fair Trading Act,” he said.
Teams of people claiming to be foreign art students were often “dropped off” in an area to work.
“If people see the vehicles they should get registration numbers. Sometimes the vehicles have been hired and we can trace the scammers through that,” Mr Hillyard said.
“We are keen to hear from anyone who has purchased a painting in this way during the past two weeks. In these instances, people can provide evidence in statements and they can become material witnesses.”
Following our story on inmycommuity.com earlier this week, several more people conned by the scammers have come forward.
People can call Consumer Protection on 1300 304054.
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