Warning on new government impersonation scams

Australians are being urged to watch out for government impersonation scams with over $1.26 million lost from more than 7100 reports made to Scamwatch so far this year.

Text messages claiming to be from myGov or from agencies claiming to help victims gain early access to their superannuation have been particularly prolific in recent months taking advantage of tax time and recent COVID-19 related financial uncertainty.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deputy chair Delia Rickard said government impersonation scams were often threatening in nature.

“Scammers are increasingly taking advantage of the financial difficulties and uncertainty generated from the COVID-19 pandemic to trick unsuspecting Australians,” Ms Rickard said.

“We are seeing two main types of scams impersonating government departments; fake government threats and phishing scams.

“Both of these scams can be quite convincing and can lead to significant financial losses or even identity theft.”

In a fake government threat scam, victims receive a robocall pretending to be from a government department, such as the ATO or Department of Home Affairs.

The scammer will claim something illegal, such as tax fraud or money laundering, has been committed in the victim’s name and they should dial 1 to speak to an operator.

The scammer then tries to scare people into handing over money and may threaten that they would be arrested if they refuse.

“Don’t be pressured by a threatening caller and take your time to consider who you might be dealing with,” Ms Rickard said.

“Government departments will never threaten you with immediate arrest or ask for payment by unusual methods such as gift cards, iTunes vouchers or bank transfers.”

In a phishing scam, victims will receive an email or text message claiming to be from a government department, such as Services Australia, requesting personal details to confirm their eligibility for a government payment or because the person may have been exposed to COVID-19.

The emails and texts will include a link and request personal details such as a tax file number, superannuation details or copies of identity documents.

“Don’t click on any hyperlinks in texts or emails to reach a government website, always type the address into the browser yourself,” Ms Rickard said.

“Do not respond to texts or emails as the scammer will escalate their attempts to get your money.

“If you’re not sure whether a call is legitimate, hang up and call the relevant organisation directly by finding the details through an independent search,” Ms Rickard said.

There is more information available on the Scamwatch web site.

Have you been on the receiving end of any of these, emails, texts or phone calls? Did you know what to do?

2 comments

In addition to these scams I urge readers to be careful with legal but misleading piggyback sites that use Google ads.  When you search for a government service you see these sites first.   if you are not careful you end up paying for a service that is free from the government website.  There's a disclaimer on the piggy site but the smallest letters and at the bottom where most people don't read. Examples are ABN applications and checking your rego is up to date. Try it and see. 

How I learned to love Centrelink and saved myself from identity thieves.

 

Thanks to COVID-19 I found myself at the mercy of Centrelink. My trepidation increased when I was asked to give my full name, D.O.B. & address to someone calling from a private number. Warning lights flashed – it could be anybody! Was it a scammer? Was I about to become a victim of identity theft? Because having my mobile number, then getting my full name, D.O.B. & address was surely every identity scammers dream come true.

 

So should I decline to provide details then try calling Centrelink back, or provide my identity details & risk being scammed? What a ridiculous choice to be forced to make!

 

What could I do? What DID I do? Well, I declined to provide my personal information then called Centrelink myself. Then I saved myself from identity theives by uploading a document with two 4 digit PIN codes – one for me & one for Centrelink. I included instructions in how to use it, and explained why I wanted Centrelink staff to use it when they called me.

 

So now when someone from Services Australia (aka Centrelink) calls me, usually the very first thing they ask me for is my PIN code. Naturally I reply, & then I ask them for the Centrelink PIN code. Their reply confirms for me that they are definitely calling from Services Australia and I happily provide my address & D.O.B details. Such a sweet, simple solution - don’t you think so too?

 

I no longer fear having my identity stolen by scammers pretending to be from Services Australia. And I now actually enjoy getting calls from Centrelink, because I am so much more in control of divulging my personal information. It feels incredibly more respectful of my privacy to exchange identifying PIN codes, instead of being asked to give my personal information to a stranger calling on a private number.

 

So far the only staff member who refused to use the PIN codes and insisted I give my details, also told me she had a background in fraud – lol - it certainly couldn’t have been in fraud prevention!!!!

 

Most Services Australia staff have respected my privacy and used my PIN code system when they called. A big thank you to all of you for helping me protect my personal information from scammers. I truly appreciate your consideration.

 

P.S. I don’t really love Centrelink.

2 comments



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