Last updated: October 7, 2024
Minutes after Margaret Noy clicked on an email seemingly from Centrelink and provided her account details as requested, she realised she had made a mistake. In a bid to stop any hacker in their tracks, she hastily logged on to her MyGov account to change her password. But when her regular pension payment didn't arrive, Ms Noy knew she had been scammed.
"Within an hour they had applied for $1600 in my name, changed my [bank] account number," she said.
Services Australia, which delivers Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support payments, has witnessed a sharp rise in scams that impersonate government agencies. In the 2023-24 financial year, Services Australia observed, analysed and responded to 10,060 unique impersonation scams. It was a significant increase on the 3936 scams it observed, analysed and responded to in 2022-23. These figures may include scams that are seen multiple times and do not indicate how many customers are impacted by a particular scam.
Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen said the organisation's systems have not been compromised and remained secure, but that wasn't stopping scammers from targeting users. "There is a growing trend of scammers impersonating government organisations and targeting individuals to steal sign in credentials and other personal information," he said.
Ms Noy said she didn't receive an email or text from Services Australia to notify her of a request to change her bank details. Margaret Noy is on high alert for scams after her Centrelink account was compromised. Picture by Keegan Carroll
It is unclear whether the scammer had also changed the contact details when they accessed Ms Noy's account. She was concerned about the lack of communication she received from Centrelink when a major change was happening in her account. "That's a pretty big thing, changing your [bank] account number, because people don't do that on a whim," she said.
Services Australia said strong sign-in options can help users keep their MyGov account safe. Options include using a passkey instead of a password, Digital ID to sign in and two-factor authentication. People who suspect their account has been accessed by someone else or who have shared personal information to another person are encouraged to call Services Australia's scams and identity theft help desk. Calls to the service have been steadily growing.
The help desk responded to 22,451 calls in 2023-24, compared with 18,412 calls the year prior. In the first two months of this financial year, the help desk has already responded to more than 4500 calls.
It took several months, but eventually Ms Noy's account was secured and Services Australia reinstated all her payments. Ms Noy is now on high alert for scams after her experience. In her role as the secretary of the Belconnen Senior Citizens Club she sees scam attempts come through the club's email inbox on a daily basis.
She lists some of the latest arrivals: "Renew your antivirus, Woolworths confirmed that you've won something ... act now, before it's too late."
(article source)
Related articles
