Scammers are posing as disaster relief agencies to take advantage of people affected by disasters. These scammers may be offering help, payments, or claim they’re collecting donations for disaster affected communities.

When offering you ‘help’, the scammers will often ask for your personal information. This can include asking for your bank details, passwords or credit card details. They may ask you this directly, or get this information by asking you to register your details online.

What to look out for

To take advantage of you, scammers may:

• ask you to provide your personal information on social media
• contact you via direct message or live chat
• ask you to pay for their help.

Remember, Services Australia will never ask you to communicate via direct message or live chat. We’ll never ask you to share personal information with us on social media, and we never ask you to pay for our assistance.

What to do if you spot a fake social media post

If you spot a fake social media profile, you can report it using the platform’s reporting system.

Remember, it’s important to look for signs that you may be engaging with a scammer. If you identify a scammer, don’t respond.

If you have given someone you don’t know your myGov details, Customer Reference Number (CRN), Medicare information or other personal details you should call the Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk.

Find out more about scams and identity theft, including how to protect yourself against scams and what to do if a scam has affected you.