THE Financial and Cyber Crime Group are reminding South West Queenslanders to be aware of grinch-like scammers and to stay alert to scams.

Financial and Cyber Crime detective inspector Vince Byrnes said, scams occur all year round, but scammers prey on people’s generosity and vulnerability during the holiday season.

“If a deal is too good to be true, it probably is,” Mr Byrnes said.

“We are reminding everyone to be alert to Christmas scammers and report any suspicious or unusual activity to Scamwatch.”

Mr Burns said victims of cybercrime should be aware that police are unable to recover money lost.

If you have been the victim of a cybercrime, report the matter as soon as possible, which you can do online at ReportCyber, where the incident will be referred to the right law enforcement agency to investigate.

Here’s a list of the most common cyber scams that tend to happen during Christmas:

1.Bogus websites

2.Phishing scams

3.Parcel delivery scams

4.Fake sellers on online classifies/trading sites

5.Fake buyers on online classifies/trading sites

6.Puppy scams

7.Free gift card scams

8.Holiday scams

9.Impersonation scams

10.Fake charities or fundraising appeals

11.Romance scams

12.Remote access scams