Victim of Fraud in Australia? Reporting and Recovery Steps

If someone is in immediate danger: contact your local emergency service. Do not use the contact details supplied by a suspected fraudster.

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Step-by-step fraud help guide for victims in Australia

Fraud in Australia can involve bank-transfer scams, identity theft, phishing messages, fake investments, online shopping fraud, romance scams, business-email compromise, forged invoices, or fraudulent employment and visa offers. If you believe you have been defrauded, act quickly: stop communicating with the suspected fraudster, do not send additional money, contact your bank or payment provider, secure compromised accounts, preserve the evidence, and report the incident through the appropriate official service.

Fraudsters frequently make messages and documents appear to come from legitimate companies, government departments, banks, employers, police officers or professional advisers. They may copy logos, signatures, invoices, employee names, Australian Business Numbers and official-looking letterheads. Understanding how scammers misuse company letterhead and business identities can help you identify warning signs before sending money or personal information.

Be especially cautious when someone creates urgency, requests secrecy, threatens arrest or account suspension, asks you to install remote-access software, or tells you to transfer money to a “safe account.” A professional-looking PDF, employment offer, certificate, invoice or company logo does not establish that the communication is genuine. Learning how secure document authentication works can help recipients distinguish genuine correspondence from forged or altered documents.

Before responding to an important request, contact the organization using a telephone number or website you independently verify. Do not rely only on the contact details contained in the message or document. Businesses can also reduce impersonation risks by adopting verifiable business communication practices that allow recipients to confirm whether correspondence is genuine.

1. Stop Further Losses

1. Stop communicating with the suspected fraudster and do not send additional money.

2. If money or banking information was involved, contact your bank, card issuer or payment provider immediately using its independently verified official telephone number. Ask it to stop transactions, secure the account and attempt to trace, freeze or recall the funds.

3. If anyone is in immediate danger, there is a threat to life, or a crime is in progress, call Triple Zero (000).

4. Report cybercrime, stolen money, identity theft, account compromise, online extortion or similar criminal activity through ReportCyber:
https://www.cyber.gov.au/report-and-recover/report

5. Report the scam to the National Anti-Scam Centre through Scamwatch:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam

6. Secure affected email, banking, social-media, myGov, shopping and other online accounts. Change passwords from a trusted device, sign out of unknown sessions and enable multi-factor authentication.

7. If remote-access or screen-sharing software was installed, disconnect the device from the internet. Do not use it for banking or other sensitive activities until it has been checked and secured.

8. Preserve screenshots, emails, full email headers, telephone numbers, website addresses, advertisements, chat histories, transaction records, cryptocurrency wallet addresses, receipts and suspicious documents.

9. If personal identity information was exposed, contact IDCARE for specialist recovery support:
https://www.idcare.org/
Telephone: 1800 595 160

10. Be alert for recovery scams. Do not pay anyone who unexpectedly claims they can recover lost money, cryptocurrency or investments.

2. Contact Your Bank or Payment Provider

Contact your bank, card issuer, cryptocurrency exchange or payment provider immediately through an independently verified official telephone number.

Ask the provider to:

• Stop or block pending transactions
• Attempt to trace, freeze or recall transferred funds
• Block affected cards or payment credentials
• Secure internet and mobile banking
• Remove unknown devices, beneficiaries or payees
• Investigate unauthorized transactions
• Contact the receiving financial institution
• Issue a complaint or case-reference number
• Confirm the complaint in writing

Explain whether you personally authorized the transaction, were deceived into authorizing it, or did not authorize it at all. These situations can be treated differently, so provide accurate details.

Never give anyone your password, card PIN, CVV, one-time security code or remote access to your device. A genuine bank employee should not tell you to move money to a “safe account.”

Keep a record of when you discovered the fraud, when you notified the bank, who you spoke with and what action the bank said it would take.

The ASIC ePayments Code provides protections and rules for many consumer electronic payments, including certain unauthorized transactions. The result depends on the circumstances and whether the provider subscribes to the code.

If the financial firm does not resolve the complaint satisfactorily, complete its internal dispute-resolution process and then consider lodging a free complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority:

https://www.afca.org.au/make-a-complaint

AFCA telephone:
1800 931 678

From March 12, 2026, AFCA’s jurisdiction expanded to include certain scam-related complaints involving receiving banks and unauthorized accounts or credit facilities opened in a consumer’s name, even when the consumer was not already a customer of that bank.

Contacting the bank does not replace reports to ReportCyber and Scamwatch.

3. Report the Fraud to Police

If there is an immediate threat to life, risk of serious harm or a crime in progress, call Triple Zero (000).

For non-urgent police assistance, call 131 444. Availability and the way reports are handled can differ between states and territories.

Cybercrime—including stolen money or personal information, online extortion, account hacking, business-email compromise and other internet-enabled crimes—can be reported to police through ReportCyber:
https://www.cyber.gov.au/report-and-recover/report

Provide as much information as possible, including:

• Your contact details
• Date and time of the incident
• Amount of money lost
• Bank, card, payment or cryptocurrency transaction information
• Names and account details used by the suspected fraudster
• Email addresses, telephone numbers and social-media accounts
• Website addresses and online advertisements
• Copies of messages, emails, documents and receipts
• Complaint or reference numbers already issued by your bank

Save the ReportCyber reference number and retain a copy of the report.

You can provide information about criminal activity anonymously through Crime Stoppers:
https://crimestoppers.com.au/
Telephone: 1800 333 000

A report to Scamwatch helps Australian authorities understand and disrupt scams, but it does not replace an official police report where money, identity information or property has been stolen.

4. Report Cybercrime and Online Fraud

Use ReportCyber to report cybercrime to Australian law-enforcement agencies:
https://www.cyber.gov.au/report-and-recover/report

ReportCyber can be used for incidents such as:

• Online fraud involving stolen money
• Identity theft or misuse of personal information
• Hacked email, social-media or online accounts
• Business-email compromise and payment-redirection fraud
• Online extortion or blackmail
• Ransomware or malicious software
• Unauthorized access to a computer or account
• Online shopping and marketplace fraud
• Cryptocurrency-related cybercrime

Before starting, collect transaction details, dates, screenshots, suspicious website addresses, email headers, telephone numbers, social-media profiles and copies of any documents received.

If the matter involves an immediate threat to life or serious harm, call Triple Zero (000) instead of waiting for an online response.

The Australian Cyber Security Hotline can provide cyber-security assistance:
1300 CYBER1
1300 292 371

Report suspicious contact or scam activity separately to Scamwatch:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam

Reporting to Scamwatch assists scam disruption and public warnings. Reporting through ReportCyber creates the appropriate cybercrime or police report.

If the incident affected a business, immediately secure administrator accounts, email forwarding rules, cloud services, payment systems and domain accounts. Preserve system and email logs before making avoidable changes that could destroy evidence.

5. Protect Your Identity

If a scammer obtained identity documents, account credentials, tax information or other sensitive personal information:

1. Report the incident through ReportCyber:
https://www.cyber.gov.au/report-and-recover/report

2. Contact IDCARE, Australia and New Zealand’s national identity and cyber support service:
https://www.idcare.org/
Telephone: 1800 595 160

3. Change passwords for affected email, banking, myGov, social-media and shopping accounts. Start with the email account used to reset other passwords.

4. Enable multi-factor authentication and remove unknown devices, sessions, forwarding rules and recovery addresses.

5. Contact the issuing organization if a driver licence, passport, Medicare card, bank card or other identity document was exposed. Ask whether the document should be replaced or flagged.

6. If your myGov, Centrelink, Medicare or Child Support information may have been compromised, contact the Services Australia Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk:
1800 941 126

Report messages impersonating Services Australia or myGov to:
[email protected]

7. If your Tax File Number or ATO account information may have been compromised, contact the Australian Taxation Office identity-support line:
1800 467 033

8. Obtain copies of your credit reports and examine them for unfamiliar enquiries, loans or accounts.

9. Request a credit-report ban if you believe you are, or are likely to become, a victim of fraud.

10. Continue monitoring financial, government, telecommunications and online accounts. Identity misuse may occur weeks or months after information is stolen.

Do not send additional identity documents to someone merely because they already possess some of your personal information.

6. Protect Your Credit

Australia’s principal consumer credit-reporting bodies include:

Equifax:
https://www.equifax.com.au/
Telephone: 13 83 32

Experian Australia:
https://www.experian.com.au/
Telephone: 1300 783 684

illion:
https://www.illion.com.au/
Telephone: 1300 734 806

Request copies of your consumer credit reports and check for loans, credit cards, enquiries, addresses or accounts you do not recognize.

Under Australian credit-reporting law, a person who reasonably believes they have been or are likely to become a victim of fraud can request a free ban on their consumer credit report.

The initial ban period generally lasts 21 days. A credit-reporting body must extend the ban if it believes that fraud has occurred or remains likely. There is no charge for requesting or extending a ban.

You may ask one credit-reporting body to pass your ban request to the other credit-reporting bodies.

During the ban, credit-reporting information generally cannot be used or disclosed without your written consent, unless disclosure is required by law or a court or tribunal order. A ban may make it more difficult for you to apply for legitimate credit during that period.

Dispute unfamiliar or inaccurate information with the credit provider and credit-reporting body. Keep your police report, identity documents, correspondence and dispute-reference numbers.

7. Consumer-Protection Resources

For a problem involving an online seller, service provider, misleading advertisement, defective product, unauthorized charge or unfair business practice, first contact the business through an independently verified official channel.

Explain the problem, state the outcome you want and preserve:

• Advertisements and product descriptions
• Order confirmations and invoices
• Payment records
• Messages and emails
• Delivery or tracking information
• The business’s response
• Screenshots of the website or offer

Report suspected scam activity to the National Anti-Scam Centre through Scamwatch:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam

If the matter is a consumer dispute rather than solely a scam report, contact the consumer-protection or fair-trading agency in your state or territory. The ACCC maintains a directory of the appropriate agencies:
https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/problem-with-a-product-or-service-you-bought/where-to-go-for-consumer-help

State and territory consumer agencies may provide information about consumer rights, help negotiate with a business or explain tribunal and small-claims options.

The ACCC accepts reports about consumer-law issues but generally does not resolve individual disputes. Scamwatch reporting helps authorities identify, disrupt and warn people about scams.

A consumer complaint does not replace contacting your bank or making a ReportCyber or police report when money, identity information or property has been stolen.

8. Employment and Immigration Fraud

Be cautious of unexpected job offers, especially when no genuine interview took place or the sender demands payment for recruitment, training, equipment, background checks, accommodation, immigration processing or a visa.

An employer should not ask a prospective employee to pay money merely to receive a job offer.

Verify an Australian employer independently:

• Locate the organization’s official website yourself.
• Contact it using a publicly listed telephone number.
• Check its Australian Business Number through ABN Lookup:
https://abr.business.gov.au/
• Check relevant company and professional registers through ASIC:
https://www.asic.gov.au/online-services/search-asic-registers
• Do not assume that an active ABN proves the person contacting you represents that business.

Report suspicious or unlawful job advertisements to the Fair Work Ombudsman:
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/starting-employment/job-ads

For Australian visa or migration offers:

• Apply and review applications only through official Department of Home Affairs channels and ImmiAccount.
• Verify a migration agent through the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority:
https://www.mara.gov.au/search-the-register-of-migration-agents/
• Do not allow an agent to prevent you from viewing your own visa application.
• Be cautious of guaranteed visas, guaranteed permanent residence or demands for payment into personal accounts.
• Report suspected migration or visa fraud through Border Watch:
https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/portfolio-functions/immigration-and-citizenship/report-suspicious-activities

Report the scam to Scamwatch:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam

If money or identity information was stolen, also submit a ReportCyber police report:
https://www.cyber.gov.au/report-and-recover/report

Preserve the job advertisement, offer letter, employment agreement, email headers, recruiter information, migration-agent details, payment instructions and copies of identity documents supplied.

Official Contacts and Telephone Numbers

Emergency police, fire or ambulance:
000

Police Assistance Line – non-urgent police matters:
131 444

Crime Stoppers – anonymous crime information:
1800 333 000

Australian Cyber Security Hotline:
1300 CYBER1
1300 292 371

IDCARE – identity and cyber support:
1800 595 160

Australian Financial Complaints Authority:
1800 931 678

Services Australia Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk:
1800 941 126

Australian Taxation Office – compromised identity or Tax File Number:
1800 467 033

Australian Taxation Office – report an ATO impersonation scam:
1800 008 540

Equifax:
13 83 32

Experian:
1300 783 684

illion:
1300 734 806

ReportCyber:
https://www.cyber.gov.au/report-and-recover/report

Scamwatch:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam

IDCARE:
https://www.idcare.org/

Australian Financial Complaints Authority:
https://www.afca.org.au/make-a-complaint

Border Watch:
https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/portfolio-functions/immigration-and-citizenship/report-suspicious-activities

Report the Fraud

National Anti-Scam Centre – Scamwatch, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

National fraud-reporting website → Police reporting website → Cybercrime reporting website →

Official Sources

Received a suspicious business document?

Check whether a document issued through VerifiableLetter is authentic.

Verify a Suspicious Document Visit the Community Support Centre

Important: This guide provides general information and is not legal, financial or emergency advice. Fraud-reporting and police procedures may differ between Australian states and territories. Confirm current instructions directly with the relevant authority before acting. Reporting a complaint does not guarantee recovery of lost money. Never send money, disclose a security code or install remote-access software for someone who contacts you unexpectedly and claims they can recover fraud losses.