“Share a story, stop a scam”

The impact of scams

▪ Scammers are criminals who manipulate and deceive you into giving them your money or personal information. They deliberately induce feelings of shame, guilt, self-doubt and distrust.

▪ Scammers create and take advantage of different situations, including when you are distracted, busy, fearful, anxious or stressed.

▪ Being scammed can cause significant emotional distress and financial hardship.

▪ Scammers isolate you from your real-life support networks. They want to create a situation where you rely entirely upon them.

▪ People are less likely to report scams when they feel ashamed.

How to identify and avoid scams

• Consumers are urged to ‘Stop, check, report’. o Stop – Don’t give money or personal information to anyone if unsure. Say no, hang up, delete.
• Check – Scammers pretend to be from organisations you know and trust – like myGov, your bank, the police or government. If you’re not sure, call the official phone number of the organisation to check.
• Report – The more we talk, the less power they have. Report scams to scamwatch.gov.au when you see them.
• Go to Scamwatch for scam alerts and information to help you spot and avoid scams.