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If you’ve been scammed
We know there are many scams pretending to be from us. Scam emails, websites, text messages, social media messages, phone calls, and letters can be very convincing.
Contacting our Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk
If you’ve clicked on a suspicious link or given your personal information to a scammer, call our Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk.
You can email us to report a scam related to myGov or Services Australia, including Centrelink, Medicare or Child Support.
Our staff will support you with advice about how to protect yourself and your personal information.
Your personal information may include:
- identity documents
- name and date of birth
- Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN)
- Medicare card number
- myGov sign in details
- Child Support details
- bank account details.
Also call us if you’ve:
- paid money to or had money stolen by a suspected scammer
- bought gift cards or vouchers for a suspected scammer
- downloaded fake apps or visited websites pretending to be our official apps and websites.
Our Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk phone line is open Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm AEST.
We can also put an interpreter on the line if you need help.
Reporting a scam
You can email us to report a scam related to myGov or Services Australia, including Centrelink, Medicare or Child Support. Only use our email if you haven’t clicked a suspicious link or given your personal information to a scammer.
Email scams
If you get an email scam, forward us the entire email but do not change or add any extra information. Delete the scam email when you’re done. If you’re not able to forward it, email us a screenshot or image of the email.
Text message scams
If you get a scam text message, email us a screenshot or image of the message.
Telephone call scams
If you get a scam call and can see the number the scammer is calling from, email us a screenshot or image with that number.
Social media scams
If you see a Services Australia social media scam, email us a screenshot of it. You can also email us screenshots of any direct messages related to the scam.
If you spot a scam that is not related to Services Australia or myGov, you can report it to Scamwatch.
If a scammer steals your identity
Identity theft is when someone gets access to your identity to steal money or gain other benefits. For example, someone may gain access to your private information through unlocked mailboxes or discarded personal documents. These documents may include:
- Medicare cards
- utility bills
- insurance renewals
- health care records.
If you think your identity information is at risk, call our Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk.
If you need more help
There are organisations that provide support services and useful information. The following links will take you away from our website.
IDCARE is a free national identity support service. Contact them if you think your personal or identity information has been misused.
Scamwatch has information about all types of scams. You can report scams online.
Stay Smart Online has information about online scams and how you can protect yourself when online.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is available on 1800Â 008Â 540, or go to their scams page for ATO scam enquiries.