Latest news with #ConsumerProtectionWA
Yahoo
26-07-2025
- Yahoo
Family flee as battery fire engulfs home
A family has been forced to flee their home in Perth's south-east after it was engulfed in flames early on Saturday morning. The Forrestfield home caught fire at around 3.30am, with the family narrowly escaping with their one-year-old and two dogs. A 38-year-old man was hospitalised, reportedly with breathing issues. Emergency responders from the WA Department of Fire & Emergency Services brought the blaze under control, however the home was completely destroyed. Footage from the fire shows the home was completely torched, with windows shattered and the floor littered with debris. Investigator Darryl Kramer told 9News the house was '100 percent damaged'. He went on to raise the alarm about lithium-ion batteries, which are suspected to have caused the fire. It is the 107th house fire caused by the batteries in Western Australia this year alone. 'These are only the ones we know about, that we are being called to,' Mr Kramer said. 'It is a forever increasing risk to the community.' In WA, exploding batteries caused an average of three house fires a week, and have become the fastest growing house fire risk. There were 166 total house fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in WA last year. The shocking spike in incidents has sparked warnings from Consumer Protection WA to only buy regulated products from reputable suppliers, and to be cautious buying from marketplaces or second-hand. These batteries are commonly found in laptops and phones, as well as e-bikes, e-scooters and power tools.
News.com.au
26-07-2025
- News.com.au
Family forced to flee as lithium-ion battery fire engulfs Forrestfield, Perth home
A family has been forced to flee their home in Perth's south-east after it was engulfed in flames early on Saturday morning. The Forrestfield home caught fire at around 3.30am, with the family narrowly escaping with their one-year-old and two dogs. A 38-year-old man was hospitalised, reportedly with breathing issues. Emergency responders from the WA Department of Fire & Emergency Services brought the blaze under control, however the home was completely destroyed. Footage from the fire shows the home was completely torched, with windows shattered and the floor littered with debris. Investigator Darryl Kramer told 9News the house was '100 percent damaged'. He went on to raise the alarm about lithium-ion batteries, which are suspected to have caused the fire. It is the 107th house fire caused by the batteries in Western Australia this year alone. 'These are only the ones we know about, that we are being called to,' Mr Kramer said. 'It is a forever increasing risk to the community.' In WA, exploding batteries caused an average of three house fires a week, and have become the fastest growing house fire risk. There were 166 total house fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in WA last year. The shocking spike in incidents has sparked warnings from Consumer Protection WA to only buy regulated products from reputable suppliers, and to be cautious buying from marketplaces or second-hand. These batteries are commonly found in laptops and phones, as well as e-bikes, e-scooters and power tools.
ABC News
06-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Scratchie scam via registered mail offering $US240,000 prize really is 'too good to be true'
It is sold as a scratch and win dream — two professional-looking scratchie cards neatly packaged alongside a glossy travel brochure and sent via registered mail with a return address to Kuala Lumpur. When the recipient scratches a ticket, they "win" a prize of $US240,000 ($369,000). But before any prize can be claimed, recipients are asked to provide the scammers with their personal identification details and to transfer money to claim their winnings. Consumer Protection WA said there had been an escalation in scratchie scams, with 110 reports made to the consumer watchdog over the past year. Five West Australians fell victim to scratchie fraudsters totalling $30,550 in losses. ABC Kimberley-Pilbara Saturday Breakfast presenter Roslyn Butcher received the pictured scratchies last month. "I was quite excited because normally whatever online shopping I do I tend to get it sent to a parcel locker, but this was registered post," she said. The Kimberley-based presenter was suspicious and checked online to see if it was a scam. "I know the saying: 'If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is'," Ms Butcher said. "I was able to think this through and realise it probably was a scam. Sure enough, it really was too good to be true." Consumer Protection Kimberley senior officer Ange Inns said scammers changed their fraudulent trading name once found out. "It's a lottery in itself whether you receive them. Don't fall for the glossy paperwork and the big win," she said. "To go to this trouble and effort, you'd think that they are quite certain some people are going to fall for these scams." She said scammers attempted to use the provided details for identity theft. "It's definitely one of the tricks of their trade to get you sucked into sending in your personal details, copies of your passport or your bank account details," Ms Inns said. "This could be used in a lot of ways to steal your identity, take out loans, and all these other things." Australian Competition and Consumer Protection Commission statistics show Australians have lost more than $5.8 million in "unexpected winnings" scams, which include scratchie scams, since 2020. Fraudulent scams arriving in the mail have accounted for $1.6 million in losses, with residents in Queensland, New South Wales and WA reporting the highest number of scams. While WA authorities said the scams were difficult to shut down, people should be suspicious of any letters, emails or telephone calls suggesting they had won an unexpected prize. "You should never have to pay to win money, and be careful of sharing your ID documents," Ms Inns said. "We can attempt to take web pages down, but I think the scammers will always be around."
