National Australian Scamwatch Centre (NASC) has issued a warning against a surge in scam attempts by individuals posing as government officials
The alert, disseminated via their Twitter account, urges the public to exercise heightened vigilance when dealing with unsolicited communications claiming government affiliation.
Scamwatch highlighted that scammers were increasingly sophisticated, using emails, text messages and phone calls to trick individuals into providing personal information or financial details.
Scammers will impersonate trusted government organisations or use brands such as myGov, Service Australia, Centrelink or the Australian Taxation Office to gain your trust.
???? Watch out for scammers pretending to be from government organisations. Protect yourself by always using the official app to contact agencies or checking the website URL ends in ‘.gov.au’Delete the message and report scams here: https://t.co/sWWNpuqM5z pic.twitter.com/54zhY3ZQG3
— NASC Scamwatch (@Scamwatch_gov) December 11, 2023
Verify authenticity
The advisory strongly recommends using official government applications for communications with agencies and verifying the authenticity of websites by checking for the '.gov.au' domain.
This measure is crucial in distinguishing legitimate government communication from fraudulent attempts.
The agency also emphasised the importance of reporting suspicious activities.
Encountering a potential scam should prompt individuals to delete the message immediately and report the incident on Scamwatch's official website.
This not only helps the individual avoid potential harm but also assists in the broader effort to track and combat these fraudulent activities.
Modus operandi
The common guise is that of a government agency, exploiting the trust and respect typically afforded to such institutions.
Sometimes scammers claim to be from international government organisations as Chinese Authority scams.
They try to get your personal information, by contacting you on social media or sending a link in a text message or email.
They may also call and threaten you with immediate arrest, deportation, or other legal action.
Government organisations won’t ever send a text message or email with a link to log onto online services such as myGov.