Spike in Centrelink scams

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is warning the community to be aware of phone calls from scammers pretending to be from the Department of Human Services or Centrelink.

The ACCC has provided helpful hints on how to protect yourself from scammers. These include:

• If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from Centrelink and offering an increase in benefits, hang up.
• Never give your personal or financial details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source
• Any requests to send money via a gift card should be treated as highly suspicious
• Never send any money via wire transfer to anyone you do not know or trust.

 

See the ACCC's media release for more details.