Scam types

Scammers pose as children or other loved ones in a state of distress to con their parents or guardians into parting with their money. The fraudsters use many channels, including SMS, WhatsApp, and even artificial intelligence voice cloning, to trick victims into giving them personal information or transferring funds to their bank accounts.

Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a scam that hackers use to exploit business emails posing as company leaders or trusted partners and send convincing emails asking for payment or sensitive information. Fraudsters can deceive employees into transferring funds, sharing private information, or accessing sensitive data.

It is possible for scammers to pose as your bank when they call or text you. They can even send you SMS messages that seem like real ones. They will create a convincing story to get you to act. They might request personal information from you or tell you to click on a link in order to confirm your account. Additionally, in order to protect your money from suspected fraud, they might urge you to move funds to another account or make an instant payment.

Scammers are calling people and pretending to be from a trusted organisation like a bank, IT company or phone company. They will say your bank accounts or computers aren’t secure and your money isn’t safe. They will ask for your PIN and tell you to leave your bank card in your letterbox so it can be cancelled and replaced. They may ask you to withdraw cash and leave that in the letterbox instead, or they may pick it up from you directly.

Fake online stores, suspicious posts on online auction sites, and dodgy online marketplace ads are some of the most common online shopping scams to watch out for.

Scammers also often create websites that impersonate well-known online stores. These websites will look very similar to the real store's website and may advertise the same products at significantly lower prices. They also often charge you through unusual payment methods such as:

• Money orders
• Direct electronic funds transfers or deposits
• Buying gift cards as payment
• Paying with digital currencies such as Bitcoin.

Some important things to look for to check the legitimacy of the site you're purchasing from include:

• Comments and reviews from buyers found through a search engine or external review site can help you ensure its authenticity
• Web addresses that begin with ‘https://’ and show a locked padlock symbol
• If the company has complete and verifiable contact details and return policy.

Finally, if the deal seems just too good to be true, then unfortunately it probably is.

If you want to learn more about staying safe while online shopping, complete our short and free Online Shopping module. 

These pretend to be from well-known companies like Coles, Qantas, or Telstra, warning about expiring loyalty points and directing you to fake websites that convince you to share your credit card and personal details, which scammers use for illegal activities.

Scammers set up fake websites to deceive you into paying money for popular breeds, cute puppies, or other pets. They set up fake profiles on social media and online marketplaces to convince you to buy a pet that doesn’t exist.

Scammers post ads for rental properties that may not exist or that do exist but that they do not own. Scammers will come up with excuses about why you can’t inspect the property and will ask you to pay a bond or rent in advance. They may also ask you to send identity information like your licence or passport.

At the end of each financial year, there's a noticeable rise in scams involving the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). These scams often come in prerecorded and text messages, falsely claiming that you have unpaid tax debts. It's crucial to spot and avoid falling victim to these scams.

These scams often come via SMS text message or prerecorded phone messages, falsely claiming that you have unpaid fines. It's crucial you do not provide your credit card details to cold callers or voicemail services NSW Government will never ask you to make a payment via a link in a SMS text message. If you are unsure if a NSW Revenue fine is valid, please conduct your own investigation and get in touch with Service NSW.

Jane met David online, charmed by his elaborate stories. He claimed to have spent all his money on his sick granddaughter, convincing Jane to send him money so they could meet. After receiving the funds, David disappeared. Heartbroken, Jane realised she’d been scammed by a seemingly perfect romance that was never real.

Scammers use romance or friendship grooming over a long period of time to gain trust before attempting to convince the target to invest in the stock market, cryptocurrencies, or foreign currency.

Scammers demonstrate their lavish lifestyles and discuss their bank or crypto balances throughout months of friendship in the hope of being asked for advice or tips on how they too can generate such wealth. The scammer will guide them to invest in their scam, which may appear to look legitimate. After investing, the victim may receive fake balances in apps, websites, or statements showing their money's growth, which often encourages the victim to invest more money.

Crypto scams sometimes dupe victims into believing they are trading on real platforms, but the money is actually syphoned into an account held by the scammers, who have built phoney platforms that seem identical to well-known trading sites.

If you want to learn more about Cryptocurrency, complete our short and free Cryptocurrency module. 

Scammers use money from a new victim to pay out fake returns to those who may doubt or are wanting to leave the scheme to trick the victim into staying, reinvesting or to keep up appearances to new victims.

A pyramid scheme is both an employment and an investment scam, where you earn money by recruiting others rather than selling products. They work by encouraging you to invest money upfront and recruiting others to invest. Most participants, especially at the bottom, lose money, making these schemes illegal and unsustainable.

Targeting Australians seeking roles on popular reality and renovation shows. Scammers create fake profiles, websites, and popups that look like legitimate networks and talent companies. They aim to steal personal information and may ask for upfront payments to submit an application or secure an audition.

You have suddenly won a prize in a lottery or competition that you did not enter. These scams work by asking you to pay some type of fee or tax to claim your prize.

Scammers are taking advantage of personal information available online from family tree and ancestry sites to deceive victims into thinking they've inherited money or estates. By obtaining names similar to those of distant relatives, they trick people into believing they're entitled to inheritance. However, their real goal is to steal money by asking for upfront fees and taxes to handle the probate and will process.