What is the first thing to do if I think I am being scammed?

Stop all contact. Hang up the phone, stop replying, and do not click any links. Then check the story yourself: look up the organisation's official number on its own website and call that. A real organisation will never mind you hanging up and calling back.

What should I do if I already sent money or shared details?

Call your bank first, straight away. Banks can sometimes stop or recall a transfer if you act quickly. Then report the scam to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au. If personal or identity details were shared, contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160 (idcare.org.au), Australia's free identity and cyber support service.

How do I avoid scams?

Slow down when anything is urgent, verify every request through contact details you look up yourself, never pay by gift card or cryptocurrency, never tell anyone a one-time code, and type web addresses yourself instead of clicking links. Most scams fail the moment you check independently.

How can I check whether a message, email or call is a scam?

Use the free checkers on Scamwarden, our sister service: answer a few plain-English questions about the message, email or call and get a clear risk read-out. Nothing you answer leaves your device.

Scam Help is a free service of Digital Safety & Recovery Australia (DSRA), an Australian not-for-profit (ABN 43 599 714 077, NSW) working toward ACNC charity registration. The site is built and hosted in-kind by Alien IT Solutions, and the advice follows guidance published by Scamwatch (ACCC) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

Immediate scam help, in plain English.

If a call, text or email feels wrong, you are probably right. The steps below work in the first five minutes, whether the scam is still happening or money has already moved. Scams catch careful people every day; acting quickly matters more than feeling embarrassed.

Stop it right now: four steps

Stop all contact.
Hang up the phone. Stop replying to the message. Close the email. Do not click any link. A real organisation will never mind you hanging up; scammers need to keep you talking.
Do not pay, and do not share codes.
No real bank, government agency or business asks to be paid in gift cards or cryptocurrency, and no legitimate organisation will ever ask you to read out a one-time code from your phone. Either request means scam, every time.
Check the story yourself.
Look up the organisation's phone number on its own website, or on the back of your card, and call that number. Never use a number, link or email address the message gave you.
Tell someone.
A family member, a friend, your bank. Scammers push secrecy because it works for them. Saying the story out loud is often the moment it falls apart.

If money or details were already given

Move fast and start with the bank. This is the order that protects you most:

Your bank, first and straight away.Call the fraud line on the back of your card or on the bank's website. Banks can sometimes stop or recall a transfer if you reach them quickly.
IDCARE: 1800 595 160, idcare.org.auIf personal or identity details were shared (licence, Medicare, passwords, one-time codes), IDCARE is Australia's free national identity and cyber support service. They will walk you through exactly what to secure.
Scamwatch: scamwatch.gov.auReport the scam to the National Anti-Scam Centre. Near-misses count too, and every report helps protect someone else.
ReportCyber: cyber.gov.auFor cybercrime affecting a business, such as compromised email or a paid fake invoice, report to the Australian Signals Directorate's ReportCyber.

Keep the message. Do not delete the text, email or call record until you have reported it. It is your evidence.

Not sure yet? Check it before you act

Our sister service Scamwarden runs free two-minute checks. You answer plain-English questions about what you received; nothing you answer leaves your device.

A text or email to you

"Hi Mum" messages, fake tolls and deliveries, myGov and bank impersonations, prize offers.

Check a message

A business email

Invoices with new bank details, urgent boss-payment requests, login links, odd attachments.

Check a business email

A call you just got

Fake bank and ATO callers, remote-access requests, robocalls, one-ring overseas numbers.

Check a phone call

How to avoid scams: six habits that do the work

Almost every scam relies on speed, secrecy and a payment method that cannot be traced. These habits break all three.

Slow down when anything is urgent

"Your account will be closed today." "Your parcel will be returned." "Act now." Real organisations give you time. Scammers manufacture urgency so you act before you think; treat pressure itself as the warning sign.

Verify through details you look up yourself

Whoever contacts you, check the claim through the organisation's own website, app or phone number, found by you. Scammers impersonate banks, Australia Post, toll companies and police because those names make people comply. One call to a number you looked up yourself settles it.

Never pay by gift card or cryptocurrency

No real bank, government agency or business asks to be paid in gift cards or cryptocurrency. Ever. A request for an unusual payment method is one of the strongest scam signs there is.

Never tell anyone a one-time code

The short code sent to your phone when you log in is the key to your account. No legitimate organisation will ask you to read one out or type it into a link they sent. Anyone who asks is trying to get in.

Type addresses yourself instead of clicking

If a message says there is a problem with your account, open the official app or type the website address yourself. Links in unexpected messages can lead to convincing copies of real sites.

Talk about scams at home

Agree on a family rule: any surprise request for money or codes gets checked with a call back on a known number, no matter who it seems to be from. Households that talk about scams spot them sooner.

Official help and reporting

These are the official Australian services. They are free and they are the ones to trust:

Scamwatch: types of scamsThe National Anti-Scam Centre's rundown of the scams going around in Australia.
Australian Cyber Security Centre: so you think you have been hackedStep-by-step recovery guidance for a compromised account or device.
Moneysmart: financial scamsASIC's guidance on money, banking and investment scams.
Services Australia: scams and identity theftWhat to do when myGov, Centrelink or Medicare details are involved.
ACMA: phone and SMS scamsThe communications regulator on scam calls and scam text messages.
eSafety Commissioner: reportWhere to report cyberbullying, image-based abuse and other serious online harm.

Common questions

What is the first thing to do if I think I am being scammed?: Stop all contact. Hang up the phone, stop replying, and do not click any links. Then check the story yourself: look up the organisation's official number on its own website and call that. A real organisation will never mind you hanging up and calling back.
What should I do if I already sent money or shared details?: Call your bank first, straight away. Banks can sometimes stop or recall a transfer if you act quickly. Then report the scam to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au. If personal or identity details were shared, contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160 (idcare.org.au), Australia's free identity and cyber support service.
How do I avoid scams?: Slow down when anything is urgent, verify every request through contact details you look up yourself, never pay by gift card or cryptocurrency, never tell anyone a one-time code, and type web addresses yourself instead of clicking links. Most scams fail the moment you check independently.
How can I check whether a message, email or call is a scam?: Use the free checkers on Scamwarden, our sister service: answer a few plain-English questions about the message, email or call and get a clear risk read-out. Nothing you answer leaves your device.
Who runs Scam Help?: Scam Help is a free service of Digital Safety & Recovery Australia (DSRA), an Australian not-for-profit (ABN 43 599 714 077, NSW) working toward ACNC charity registration. The site is built and hosted in-kind by Alien IT Solutions, and the advice follows guidance published by Scamwatch (ACCC) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre.