How to spot a scam

In 2025, Australians lost $2.18 billion to scams, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). These types of scams were responsible for 60% of losses: investment scams, payment redirection scams, romance scams, phishing scams and remote access scams. 

As scams become increasingly sophisticated, with new ways of scamming continuously being developed, Scamwatch identifies three simple steps that can help us keep safe from scammers. 

Stop. Check. Protect

Stop

Before acting on an email, phone call or message from anyone, regardless of where they say they’re from and who they say they are, take a moment to stop and assess the request. Understand how it was received and what information or access is being requested from you. Stopping before you act on any request is a vital step, as most scams will rely on a sense of urgency or panic.

Check

Verify who you’re speaking with to ensure they are real. You can do this by contacting the organisation directly, using contact details you find on their official website. 

Protect

If you think you’ve been scammed, act quickly to further protect yourself and others. 

If you’re a People First Bank member and you suspect your account security has been compromised or notice unauthorised transactions, contact us immediately so we can help protect your account. Delays in reporting may affect liability for losses from unauthorised transactions.

There are a number of organisations committed to increasing the understanding and knowledge of these issues to help consumers protect themselves and their families.

• Cyber.gov.au
• Scamwatch
• Money Smart
• Microsoft Security
• The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

How to spot a phone scam

Scammers will try to obtain your personal and banking information over phone calls. They may impersonate financial institutions, government departments, telecommunication providers, and other well-known organisations.

Some ways to spot phone scams:

• The call has a sense of urgency which requires your immediate urgent action, often to prevent you from losing money
• The caller suggests you or your accounts have been hacked or involved in fraudulent activity
• The caller asks for personal or financial information, or remote access to your computer
• The caller may have some of your personal information due to recent data breaches. Don’t think the call is legitimate based on the caller having some of your personal information
• The caller asks you to install software or access a secure account
• The caller threatens you with arrest, deportation or blackmail
• The caller mentions unclaimed refunds or incentives

If in doubt, hang up and contact the caller using a phone number you have looked up yourself.
Read our handy tips to keeping yourself safe from phishing.

How to spot an email scam

Scam emails claim to be sent from legitimate companies including financial institutions. They can request passwords, personal information or login details, and will often use links or attachments to direct you to false websites or download viruses to your device. Never click on links or open attachments in an unexpected or suspicious email.

Scam emails are easy for scammers to create using the same logo and design as the legitimate company. Scammers can also copy or 'spoof' the email address of an organisation or business to make the scam email look more real. 

Some ways to spot scam emails:

• The email asks you to confirm or verify your account information by clicking a link or opening an attachment. Do not click the link or open the attachment.
• The email requests a payment but the bank account details are new or have changed
• The sender email address is not from the legitimate company address 
• The message is unsolicited and has a sense of urgency requiring a response
• When you hover your mouse over a link, the URL appears inconsistent with the sender information. Do not click the link to find out where it goes.

If you’re unsure, don’t click any links or attachments. Call and confirm the legitimacy of the message with the sender before opening or clicking on links, using a phone number you have looked up yourself.

Read our handy tips to keeping yourself safe from phishing.

How to spot an SMS scam

Similar to scam emails, scam text messages look like they’re from legitimate companies and organisations, or even your own family and friends. They have a sense of urgency to make you act quickly and will often use links to direct you to false websites.

From 1 July 2026, businesses and organisations using branded sender IDs are required to register them. Unregistered sender IDs may be displayed as 'Unverified'. For more information on this, see our dedicated blog. 

Some ways to spot SMS scams:

• The message asks you to take immediate action and has a sense of urgency. This can include claims your accounts have been hacked or involved in fraud, threats to stop a service or charge a fine, or claim a problem with a payment or parcel delivery
• The message asks you to make a payment or transfer money
• The message asks you to click on a link or call a number
• The message asks you to provide personal information

How to spot a relationship scam

Scammers can use social media, websites, and dating or gaming apps to prey on people looking for love and friendship. They target victims by creating fake profiles, sometimes of famous people, on legitimate apps and websites. 

These are some ways on how you can spot a relationship scam:

• The person expresses strong emotions for you in a relatively short period of time and messages you a lot. This is sometimes called ‘love bombing’
• They might suggest you move the relationship away from the website, to phone, email and/or instant messaging
• Scammers often claim to be from Australia, but are usually travelling or working overseas
• Once they’ve gained your trust, they might ask you (either subtly or directly) for money, gifts or banking or credit card details, for a variety of reasons. There can be a sense of urgency
• They might convince you to use cryptocurrency or invest in a scheme which turns out to be fake
• They might send you money which they ask you to transfer. These funds may be stolen money, and transferring them could involve you in money laundering activity

Read our handy tips to keeping your banking safe.

How to spot an investment scam

In 2025, $837.7 million was lost to investment scams in Australia, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). This type of scam was responsible for the highest amount of losses.

Some ways to spot investment scams:

• Scammers tell you about investment opportunities that promise a high return with little or no risk, deals that seem too good to be true
• They use urgency and convincing marketing, and can impersonate legitimate companies
• They can create fake recommendations from celebrities
• Cryptocurrency scams are a common type of investment scams. After what can often be a low initial investment, scammers can pressure you to invest more over time before claiming the money is gone, or ceasing communication and blocking access to the funds
• Scammers can create fake data to make you think your investment is growing, and may build your trust by allowing you to make small withdrawals 

Never take investment advice from anyone that you’ve only met online. Before investing, check this list of companies you should not deal with.

How to spot an inheritance or lottery scam

Inheritance or lottery scams usually start with an unsolicited email, letter or text message advising of a large sum of money which has either been inherited or won in a lottery.

Some ways to spot inheritance or lottery scams include:

• Generally, the unsolicited communication will ask you to respond quickly and confidentially to secure the funds
• You may be asked to provide personal and account details for funds to be deposited into your account
• You may also be asked to send money to pay fees or charges relating to having the winnings released

If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer, please contact us immediately. We encourage you to report scams to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) via the report a scam website.

You can find more about our anti-fraud measures on our dedicated page.

Statistics provided by Scamwatch and ACCC.