Fraud, Scam and Integrity Policy
Rules to protect customers, referrers, ambassadors, providers, partners and Your IT & Tech Mates from scams, payment bypassing, referral manipulation, false claims and unsafe conduct.
1. Purpose and related terms
This policy forms part of the Your IT & Tech Mates terms and must be read with our Service Terms, Terms and Conditions, Payment and Warranty Terms, Referral Terms, Referral Policy, Ambassador Network Terms, Provider Partner Terms, Provider Device Pickup Terms, Quick Help Terms, Privacy Policy, Electronic Consent Policy, Booking and No-show Policy, Dispute and Evidence Policy, Safeguarding Policy and any applicable quote, invoice, service form or written approval.
Where a more specific term applies to a subject matter, that more specific term applies. Nothing in this policy excludes, restricts or modifies rights that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.
2. Zero-tolerance principle
We may investigate and take action where we reasonably suspect fraud, scam activity, dishonest conduct, payment bypassing, record manipulation, financial exploitation, fake referrals, fake bookings, false reviews, fake documents, unauthorised brand use, unsafe conduct, or attempts to gain a financial, reputational or competitive advantage through improper conduct.
3. Cash payments, off-platform payments and commission integrity
Jobs, leads, referrals, provider work, partner work, ambassador activity and customer opportunities connected with Your IT & Tech Mates must be recorded and handled through the approved Your IT & Tech Mates process unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing.
Cash payments, direct payments to technicians or providers, private bank transfers, side deals, unrecorded payments, payment splitting, payment redirection, or off-platform arrangements do not qualify for referral rewards, ambassador rewards, partner commissions, provider commissions, lead fees or incentives unless expressly approved by Your IT & Tech Mates in writing.
We may withhold, cancel, reverse, reduce, offset or refuse any commission, reward, referral payment, partner payment or incentive connected with off-platform payments, unpaid jobs, refunded jobs, chargebacks, disputes, duplicate claims, fake referrals, misleading referrals, customer bypassing, provider bypassing, payment manipulation or policy breaches.
4. Prohibited conduct
The following conduct is prohibited:
- self-referrals, related-party referrals or referral manipulation schemes;
- fake leads, fake bookings, duplicate claims, circular activity or commission farming;
- artificially splitting, bundling or structuring jobs to increase commission, avoid limits or hide the true job value;
- using bots, scraping tools, automation or AI systems to manipulate bookings, reviews, referrals, support processes, search visibility or payment outcomes;
- attempting to bypass payment controls, fraud checks, commission logic, dispute workflows, quote approvals, invoice records or payout controls;
- exploiting technical vulnerabilities, unauthorised access, unauthorised data harvesting, reverse engineering, system interference or security weaknesses;
- false, purchased, coercive, retaliatory, defamatory, misleading or collusive reviews;
- fake documents, misleading qualification claims, false insurance claims, false licence claims, false identity claims or false government affiliation;
- harassment, threats, intimidation, discrimination, abuse, spam, unrelated advertising or pressure tactics;
- sharing personal contact details or payment details for fee evasion, side deals or commission bypassing;
- bad-faith disputes, false refund claims, friendly fraud, dishonest chargebacks or evidence tampering.
5. Vulnerable persons, safety and anti-exploitation
Customers, providers, partners, ambassadors and referrers must treat seniors, NDIS participants, students, minors, carers, families, support workers, aged-care residents, customers with disability, customers with limited English, and other vulnerable or potentially vulnerable persons with heightened care and respect.
Financial exploitation, coercion, manipulation, pressure selling, personal financial arrangements, requests for gifts, loans, cash withdrawals, banking access, recovery phrases, MFA codes or unnecessary passwords are prohibited. Concerns involving immediate danger should be reported to emergency services on 000 in Australia.
6. Evidence, investigations and records
We may use available records to assess fraud, scams, disputes, chargebacks, warranty claims, commission claims, payment issues and policy breaches, including booking records, quote records, invoice records, payment records, referral records, customer messages, technician notes, support notes, call logs, emails, SMS records, photos, videos, timestamps, device identifiers, pickup records, delivery records, IP/device/browser patterns, review records and other available evidence.
We may request further information, pause commissions, hold rewards, restrict services, withhold payments, refuse withdrawals, preserve records, cancel rewards, reverse entries, suspend participants, remove access or report serious conduct to authorities where lawful and appropriate.
7. Communication standards
All communications must be respectful, truthful, relevant to legitimate service coordination and consistent with customer privacy. Users must not use Your IT & Tech Mates channels, referral tools, customer details or service records for spam, harassment, misleading advertising, unauthorised marketing, off-platform payment arrangements or improper personal contact.
8. Authority and representation
No referrer, ambassador, provider, partner or technician may claim authority to bind Your IT & Tech Mates, approve discounts, approve warranties, collect money, promise outcomes, make legal guarantees, access accounts, request sensitive information, or represent themselves as an employee, authorised agent, government representative or official partner unless that authority has been expressly given in writing.
9. Enforcement
Depending on the circumstances and subject to applicable law, breaches may result in warning, investigation, service refusal, booking cancellation, account restriction, removal from programs, commission reversal, reward cancellation, payment hold, payout refusal, warranty refusal for off-platform work, dispute escalation, legal action or referral to authorities.
Nothing in this policy limits any rights or remedies that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.
Cross-linked integrity, payment and safety terms
These terms must be read together with our Terms and Conditions, Service Terms, Payment and Warranty Terms, Referral Terms, Referral Policy, Ambassador Network Terms, Provider Partner Terms, Provider Device Pickup Terms, Repair, Software and Data Risk Notice, Fraud, Scam and Integrity Policy, Payment and Commission Integrity Policy, Dispute and Evidence Policy, Booking and No-show Policy, Electronic Consent Policy, Privacy Policy and any quote, invoice, service form, booking confirmation or written approval that applies to your service.
We may use booking records, quote records, invoices, payment records, referral records, customer messages, technician notes, call logs, emails, SMS records, photos, timestamps, device/browser indicators, IP indicators, pickup records and other available evidence to assess disputes, refunds, warranty claims, chargebacks, commission claims, fraud risks, referral attribution and policy compliance.
Nothing in this section excludes, restricts or modifies any rights or remedies that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law or any other applicable law.
Anti-scam, fair use and customer protection
All customers, referrers, ambassadors, providers, partners and technicians must act honestly, professionally and safely. You must not misrepresent identity, authority, pricing, qualifications, insurance, licences, experience, verification status, warranty authority, payment authority or relationship with Your IT & Tech Mates.
The following conduct is prohibited: fake referrals, self-referrals, related-party manipulation, fake jobs, fake reviews, duplicate accounts, nominee accounts, circular activity, commission farming, artificial job splitting, manipulating job value or timing, referral link manipulation, bots or automation used to generate rewards, misuse of AI or scraping tools, unauthorised data harvesting, reverse engineering, system interference, evidence tampering, bad-faith chargebacks, false refund claims, harassment, pressure selling, misleading ads, impersonation, brand misuse and attempts to move customers, payments or job records outside approved Your IT & Tech Mates processes.
Extra care is required when services involve seniors, NDIS participants, minors, carers, families, aged-care residents, customers with disability, customers with limited English, schools, care environments, vulnerable persons, sensitive data, account access, CCTV, security systems or business-critical systems. Financial exploitation, coercion, unnecessary password requests, requests for MFA codes, recovery phrases, banking codes, loans, gifts, cash withdrawals or personal financial arrangements are prohibited.
We may pause service, refuse work, restrict access, remove participants, preserve records, request evidence, hold rewards, refuse payouts, cancel rewards, reverse entries, report serious conduct to authorities or take other lawful action where reasonably necessary to protect customers, staff, providers, partners, data, payment integrity, referral integrity, safety or legal compliance.
Additional scam, chargeback and referral-integrity controls
Customer payment warnings
Customers should not pay a technician, provider, referrer, ambassador or partner directly unless the payment method has been approved by Your IT & Tech Mates and appears on a valid Your IT & Tech Mates invoice, receipt or written approval. If someone asks for cash, private transfer, personal PayID, gift cards, cryptocurrency, bank login, MFA code, recovery phrase or payment outside our approved process, contact us before paying.
Reviews, reputation and evidence integrity
Reviews, testimonials, public comments and dispute evidence must be genuine and based on real first-hand experience. Fake, purchased, coercive, retaliatory, collusive, defamatory, privacy-violating or misleading reviews and evidence are prohibited. We may remove or disregard review material or evidence where misuse is detected.
Chargebacks and friendly fraud
Customers and participants must not use chargebacks, payment disputes or refund requests in bad faith. We may rely on quotes, invoices, payment records, messages, photos, device condition notes, service records, pickup records, completion records and technician evidence to respond to payment disputes, card disputes and chargeback claims.
Verification, badges and authority
Verification, badges, profiles, references, insurance, police checks, vulnerable-person checks, skill claims and experience claims must be accurate. No person may state or imply that they are endorsed, employed, authorised, verified, insured, licensed or approved by Your IT & Tech Mates unless that status is current and has been expressly confirmed by us.
Advertising, branding and logo use
Use of the Your IT & Tech Mates name, logo, referral links, badges, screenshots, marketing material, service descriptions or promotional claims is governed by the Advertising, Branding and Logo Use Policy.
Any advertising, referral promotion, ambassador promotion, provider marketing or partner marketing must be accurate, not misleading, and must not imply employment, agency, partnership, franchise rights, exclusivity, guaranteed work, guaranteed income or official endorsement unless we expressly confirm that status in writing.
Paid ads, social posts, websites, business listings, flyers and referral promotions must not impersonate Your IT & Tech Mates, misrepresent pricing, warranty, service coverage, verification, referral rewards or commission eligibility, or encourage cash payment, direct payment, private bank transfer, side deals or off-platform work.
We may require correction, removal or takedown of misleading or unauthorised brand use and may withhold, cancel, reverse or refuse any commission, reward, referral payment or partner payment connected with misleading advertising, unauthorised brand use, fake leads, fake reviews, off-platform payments or other policy breaches.
Nothing in this clause limits any rights or remedies that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law or any other applicable law.
Your IT & Tech Mates Commission and Referral Model
Total platform commission: 13.5% of the relevant qualifying job value.
Referral reward review: If an eligible referred job is completed and paid, the referral may be reviewed for a 5% manual reward. That 5% is included inside the 13.5% total platform commission; it is not added on top of the customer price.
Payment is manual only and normally after a minimum 14-day hold after customer payment is confirmed, subject to anti-scam, anti-cheating, duplicate, self-referral, refund, payment-clearance, chargeback, dispute, attribution, customer-consent and admin checks.
Referral rewards are not lifetime rewards, recurring rewards, trailing commissions, employment wages, partnership profits, franchise payments or automatic entitlements. Each job is reviewed separately and must meet the applicable Your IT & Tech Mates terms.
Minimum withdrawal balance: Approved referral, ambassador, partner or commission payments are manual only and generally require a minimum approved balance of $50 before withdrawal can be requested, unless Your IT & Tech Mates approves otherwise in writing.
Cash payments, direct technician payments, private bank transfers, side deals, split payments, payment redirection and off-platform or unrecorded payments do not qualify for commission, referral rewards, ambassador rewards, partner fees, lead fees or incentives unless Your IT & Tech Mates expressly approves and records the arrangement in writing.
This clause must be read with the Payment and Commission Integrity Policy, Referral Terms, Referral Policy, Ambassador Network Terms, Provider Partner Terms and Fraud, Scam and Integrity Policy.