Printing Industries has issued industry wide alerts over the conduct of a company selling health and safety products and a second organisation misrepresenting a widely used industry software product.
The first alert centres on the actions of a Tweed Heads company, Safety Compliance Pty Ltd, which is alleged to have engaged in “harassment, coercion and misleading or deceptive conduct,” to sell health and safety products. The second alert, an Internet scam, falsely represents updates of Adobe freeware to obtain user personal and financial information and potentially infect computers with a virus.
Printing Industries National Manager Employee Relations, OHS and Legal, Charles Watson, said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had been investigating the conduct of Safety Compliance Pty Ltd which sells safety material to small businesses across Australia via phone calls.
“The result of their investigation is the issuing of a public warning for all states and the Northern Territory,” he said.
“The notices allege that Safety Compliance made misrepresentations about occupational health and safety requirements and engaged in harassment, coercion and misleading or deceptive conduct.
“Further, the company had falsely claimed to be affiliated with workplace health and safety regulators, and warned employers they were likely to be fined by inspectors if they didn't have their products in place.”
Mr Watson said Printing Industries was very concerned over scare mongering used by any company, especially in such important and sensitive areas as workplace health and safety.
“I would like to hear from any member who may have been approached by this company. Members seeking advice on workplace health and safety issues should contact Printing Industries’ national Employment Relations team on 1800 227 425,” he said.
Printing Industries National Communication and Technical Services Manager, Joe Kowalewski, said a warning had also been issued to members over an e-mail scam that had emerged over the past week.
“Industry members as well as our own offices have received the scam emails falsely claiming to be from Adobe and offering freeware upgrades for Adobe Reader, Acrobat and Flash,” he said.
“The emails usually require recipients to register and/or provide personal information by directing them to a website where they can download a supposed upgrade to their Adobe software.
“The URL link is hidden behind what appears to be a legitimate website address and clicking the link will usually result in the user's computer becoming infected with malware and/or viruses which can capture personal information from their computer without their knowledge.”
Mr Kowalewski said that by using the Adobe brand and logo, visitors were tricked into believing that the site was legitimate.
“If you receive one of these potentially malicious emails, we strongly recommend deleting the email immediately without clicking any of the links.
“Legitimate Adobe updates are free, automatic and do not require registration.”
Mr Kowalewski warned that computer users should never disclose personal details or credit card information when directed to a website from a link in an email.
“If you believe you may have already been scammed by one of these emails, we urge you to update your anti-virus software and run a complete system scan to ensure that your computer is safe and protected.
“In cases where your credit card details have been potentially compromised, you should contact your banking institution immediately,” he said.
For more information, please visit the Adobe Community Blog here or visit Printing IndustriesScamWatch page for examples of the e-mails and tips on how to spot a scam.
