SCAM messages can look like they are from the government, businesses you deal with or even your own family or friends, to try to catch you out.
They sound urgent to get you to act quickly. They often have a link which will take you to a scam website. Scammers can steal any personal information entered on these scam websites and use it to take your money or commit fraud in your name.
To make these messages look real, scammers spoof (copy) the phone number and sender ID of businesses or people you know. Scam messages can even appear in the same message chain as real messages from the organisation, making them even harder to spot.
Warning signs it might be a scam
Stop and think. There is a good chance it is a scam if the message/call/email asks you to:
• Take immediate action
• Make a payment or transfer money
• Click on a link or call a number provided in the message
• Log on to an online account with your username and password or to provide other personal information
• Asks for personal or financial information, payment, pin, one-time code, or some other security information, credit card or banking details, to process a refund or other ‘overpayment’
• Wants to you install software or access a secure account on your mobile phone or computer
• Threatens you with immediate arrest, deportation, or blackmail, etc.
• Suggests you or your accounts have been hacked or involved in fraud
• Contains a link or attachment that asks you to long on to an online service with your username and password, or to provide other personal information
• Requests a payment but the bank account and BSB details are new or have changed since the last payment you made
• Claims to be from a well-known organisation or government agency but is sent from a free webmail address (for example @gmail, @yahoo.com.au)
Steps you can take to protect yourself
• Let calls from unknown numbers go to voicemail
• If you are not sure if a caller is who they say thy are, it is ok to hang up
• Contact the organisations or person using details you have found yourself (on their website or in the phone book), to check if the email was real
• Never click on links in messages or emails
• Search for the website yourself or use the organisations secure, authenticated app or portal to see if it is real.
Find out more at www.scamwatch.gov.au/
