By Keri Algar

SYDNEY, NSW: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today said it is concerned about foreign websites wrongly claiming to be authorised by the Australian Government to offer access to small business grants by paying a fee, where these services are ordinarily provided free of charge.

An example of a false website is the Australian Business Funding Centre (ABFC) www.australiangovernmentgrants.org, which appears to be endorsed by the Australian Government. The ACCC said examples of such websites may have disclaimers only seen upon closer inspection.

Have you been affected by an online scam?

The public can locate official grants information at www.grantslink.gov.au or www.business.gov.au. All Australian Government websites use the ‘.gov.au’ extension.

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The ACCC said that the number of online scams that impersonate Government schemes as well as big businesses is on the rise.