Victorian business owner shocked by extremely convincing scam

An extremely convincing scam has raised questions about whether there could have been a hack at a federal government department.

Victorian business owner Adrian Probert received several trademark renewal notices for his businesses, each requesting a payment of $1245.

The notices included his trademarked logos, were on Intellectual Property Office letterhead and even had prepaid return envelopes. It was only when his lawyer sounded the alarm that he became aware they were false notices.

Press PLAY below to find out more about the very, very convincing scam

“It was as real as it could possibly be,” he told Neil Mitchell. “I didn’t even think about it and I am — like everybody else — very, very cautious”.

“Have the IP Office been hacked? I haven’t got a clue … but they’re very, very official looking notices.”

3AW Mornings has contacted the IP Office and is awaiting a response.