Scams are on the rise in Australia, and it’s not just the 'oldies' who need to be on guard—these days, scammers are targeting everyone, from teens to retirees.

In fact, Services Australia has just issued a fresh warning about sophisticated new scams impersonating Centrelink, Medicare, and myGov.

They want every Australian—no matter their age—to be on high alert.

Let’s face it: scammers are getting smarter. Gone are the days of the obvious 'Nigerian prince' emails.

Now, fraudsters are using slick technology, fake websites, and even social media to trick people into handing over their most sensitive information.

Scams were reported to be becoming more common and sophisticated in Australia, with people of all ages affected, not just older Australians. Credit: Depositphotos

And with so many of us relying on digital services for everything from banking to government payments, the risks are higher than ever.

Phishing is still the number one way scammers try to steal your details. This is when you get a text, email, or even a phone call that looks like it’s from a trusted source—like Centrelink, Medicare, or myGov—but it’s actually a fake.

These messages often urge you to 'act now' by clicking a link or providing your login details. Don’t fall for it!

Scammers are also popping up on social media, creating fake profiles and even joining private social media groups to offer 'help' with government services.

They might send you a private message or invite you to a live chat, pretending to be from Services Australia. Remember: real government agencies will never contact you this way.

To help keep your accounts safe, myGov has introduced a new security review feature.

When you log in, you might see pop-up messages with tips on how to make your account more secure—like using a passkey or Digital ID instead of a password.

These options are much harder for scammers to crack.

If you haven’t already, consider setting up a passkey or connecting your Digital ID to your myGov account.

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Once you do, you can turn off password sign-in altogether, making it even tougher for criminals to access your information.

If you receive a suspicious message, don’t panic. Close it, don’t click any links, and check the official Services Australia website for scam alerts.

If you think you’ve given out your details to a scammer, contact the Services Australia Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk on 1800 941 126 (Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm AEST/AEDT).

You can also report scam messages related to myGov, Centrelink, Medicare, or Child Support by emailing [email protected].

Scams can happen to anyone, but by staying informed and following these simple steps, you can make it much harder for scammers to succeed.

For more tips and the latest scam alerts, visit the Services Australia website.

Key Takeaways

• Scams are becoming more common and sophisticated in Australia, affecting people of all ages, not just older Australians.
• Services Australia warns against sharing personal information such as myGov sign-in details, and reminds people never to click on links in suspicious messages, emails, or texts.
• Scammers often impersonate Services Australia on social media and may contact you via fake profiles or messages; Services Australia states they never conduct private inbox chats or live chats in Facebook groups.
• myGov now has new security features, including passkeys and Digital ID, to help protect against scams—users are encouraged to turn off password sign-in and use these more secure options for better account protection.

Have you or someone you know been targeted by a scam? What steps do you take to keep your information safe? Share your experiences and tips in the comments below—let’s help each other stay one step ahead of the scammers!

Read more: Are your Centrelink payments 'on hold'? Here's why you don't have to worry

 

[Blondie50]

I am so tired of receiving phone calls supposedly from Telstra informing me about suspicious activity on my Internet. I have checked with Telstra and they NEVER make those calls. Yes, the caller makes it sound very urgent. Please be careful.

 

[BillW41]

Add Telstra to the list. I'm tired of being told my Bigpond email will be cancelled tomorrow and tomorrow, etc., if I ignore the scam message.

 

[Lesley Colclough]

That’s good to know all this, thank you but what happens when you think that someone must have tried to login to your MyGov account when you can’t login yourself. I had Face ID but it’s still not working to let me login. Is there anyway I can get back into my account again? I really would appreciate the information thank you.

 

[Radiant]

Yes I was lured into a false sense of a legitimate text from my daughter advising me she had dropped her phone into the toilet and it was beyond repair. She went on to text she had an important bill to pay and would I help by paying it for her and she promised to repay me. Something didn’t look right to me like she used an American type adjective. But I was about to help her but decided to (for safety’s sake) to ask her for the names of her children. GUESS WHAT? IMMEDIATE SHUTDOWN!!!
Not only that but last night I got another text with the same request. I immediately blocked it and reported it was a SCAM!!
Beware this almost got me…..

 

[Veggiepatch]

I am going to have to go Services Australia to make a passkey, the girl at Services Australia tried to help me but my phone wouldn't let me do it. As I dont' have a drivers licence anymore or passport I cannot do Digital ID. More and more companies are asking for passkeys. When I have time I will go down to them and hope they can sort it out for me.

I am in the exact same position.

I attempted to use a "Proof Of Age" card as proof of photo identity, only to be to told by Optus (in-store) that it was out of date.

There is NO such thing as an expired "Proof Of Age" card. Ever seen an expiry date on such?

This was verified by customer service at Liquor Control Victoria but to no avail. Some businesses don't accept a "Proof Of Age" as a Category A identification proof!

 

[Rickcb63]

I have always wondered what would happen if we played along with scammers and just kept giving them false information on bank accounts and the like. Let them waste their time and energy chasing up false information. It wastes their time and gives us a laugh.

I’ve done that on a phone call scam, went for about 15mins then they started swearing at me, lol

 

[jay2]

I am going to have to go Services Australia to make a passkey, the girl at Services Australia tried to help me but my phone wouldn't let me do it. As I dont' have a drivers licence anymore or passport I cannot do Digital ID. More and more companies are asking for passkeys. When I have time I will go down to them and hope they can sort it out for me.

I hate this password stuff . I turn off mentally and ask myself DO I REALY NEED IT. I usually say no and close it down jay2

 

[Chicky]

I absolutely hate that they are targeting the older generation. It seems like there is always someone around the corner trying to take your money from you.

 

[Chicky]

I’ve done that on a phone call scam, went for about 15mins then they started swearing at me, lol

My eldest grandson use to answer them then put the phone down near the radio and continued doing what he was doing .

 

[Chicky]

That’s good to know all this, thank you but what happens when you think that someone must have tried to login to your MyGov account when you can’t login yourself. I had Face ID but it’s still not working to let me login. Is there anyway I can get back into my account again? I really would appreciate the information thank you.

I would go to the nearest Centre Link office and explain to them what's happened. Or ring them. Hope this helps a little.

 

[Ken01]

I tried that too, @Ken01: - all it did was congest my mailbox even when there was no actual message, 70-80% of the time it was just the noise of them putting down the phone that eventually blocked my message box, after receiving an average of 25-30 scam calls a week!

I decided, a few months ago, to answer abruptly "YES!", and they immediately hung up!
No more having to clear my mailbox every fortnight and others can leave genuine messages.

If they do get brazen and ask me how I am, I usually reply, "Fine, until I got your call!"

Yes, it does cause that problem. When I have no message left, I go back to the call and block the number so they can't ring me again; that way, they don't even get to leave a message. If they want to, they will have to use a different number on their end.
I have hundreds, if not thousands, of blocked numbers on my contact list

 

[Ken01]

Mygov is optional not compulsory as I found out from CentreLink. I do not want Digital ID and to have to give the government all my various information. (Putting all your eggs in the one basket). I see this as a recipe for disaster. Australia rejected the Australia card in a referendum. Perhaps we need to reject it again.

MyID was introduced to provide services for business owners. So if you do not run a business, do not bother; it's a nightmare. Best to stick with Centrelink or myGov. MyGov covers everything from ATO, Centrelink, Medicare, My Health Record, My Aged Care, etc. The best thing is only one login. Just add the ones you want from the "view and link services" link.
You can even get important messages from them to your inbox in MyGov.

Hope it helps.

 

[gkabbara]

I has scammers go into my gov and change my bank details, I have face recognition and password but somehow they took my pension. The worst thing was trying to find someone to talk to on the phone from Centrelink you can’t it’s impossible. Luckily after a couple of hours at their offices they paid me and found the money in the NAB bank. I couldn’t be they could get into my gov I don’t trust anything anymore.

Did yo find out how they may have accessed you MyGov although you had face Reg and passwd?

 

[gkabbara]

Hello Everyone, l am sick of all this scamming online world. I experienced hackers back in 2023, now in 2025, l no longer have Access to my main Bank on line or their app. I’m glad. The Hackers, destroyed my tax, centrelink.in 2023. In 2025, the Hackers try to get into the App, l laughed l can’t access it. Next thing, they go directly to my Bank’s web site. The Bank was able to stop it. I couldn’t access my pension, All the blocks, none of my periodical payments were paid or the direct debits weren’t paid. I was told l had an inbound fraud.No! It has All been sorted out now, what a hell of a month l went through. My pension doesn’t go to that account anymore. You can no longer Trust anything on line. You can not identify the truthful reality. Thank you for reading, be kind to your self . Bye

If you use a laptop make sure you have a good antivirus & antimalware program running in realtime updating all the time.

 

[Liz]

I am in the exact same position.

I attempted to use a "Proof Of Age" card as proof of photo identity, only to be to told by Optus (in-store) that it was out of date.

There is NO such thing as an expired "Proof Of Age" card. Ever seen an expiry date on such?

This was verified by customer service at Liquor Control Victoria but to no avail. Some businesses don't accept a "Proof Of Age" as a Category A identification proof!

I think mine does have an expiry date on it, with the Queensland Government.

 

[Giannidifirenze]

I have always wondered what would happen if we played along with scammers and just kept giving them false information on bank accounts and the like. Let them waste their time and energy chasing up false information. It wastes their time and gives us a laugh.

Your globally accessible accrued & collated file containing more and more information will be sold, attracting more scammers. The code word to use is ‘Alaye’ to disengage scammers who are warned that you also are a scammer.
I’m not attracting the bastards.

 

[gkabbara]

I have always wondered what would happen if we played along with scammers and just kept giving them false information on bank accounts and the like. Let them waste their time and energy chasing up false information. It wastes their time and gives us a laugh.

I remember the days of the Nigerain Scams where they would tell you you've inherited money from a relative and ask for bank details to send the inhertiance. I used to keep them busy asking them for detailed info as they were trying to scam my bank account. (I recall from a FBI site which mentioned keep them busy as much as possible so they dont scam anyone else). it was fun a while with 2 or 3 scammers but then i just stopped entertaiing them.

 

[summadale]

My MyGov was hacked some time ago. MyGov is so hard to use for many of us oldies especially if you have never been, or are no longer computer savi, I think these departments need to go back to snail mail at least if we get a letter we know it’s not a scam. I got a email just the other day from the tax office, why, I’m retired, go to MyGov it said but as I said MyGov had been hacked before. I ignored it.

Well I was opening things on MyGov and Lo and behold I found where I could change getting emails from them to getting a letter, so changed it. I’m getting emails from them to update to Digital ID and passkey, I just keep ignoring, now way, well they have all my details but I just don’t want to comply. I have commented to them I use my fingerprint. Last yr had to renew my license and they fellow said card or digital, I said card pls. I have on a number of occasions just also said your website is so hard to navigate.

 

[LITTLE RED ROBIN]

I am so tired of receiving phone calls supposedly from Telstra informing me about suspicious activity on my Internet. I have checked with Telstra and they NEVER make those calls. Yes, the caller makes it sound very urgent. Please be careful.

Yes the laaches are getting verygood at trying to take your moneyBUT if you folloe the changes centrlink SHOULD BE ABLE TO STOP THEM HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOT WITH AI STICKING ITD NOSE INTO OUR ACCOUNTS

 

[summadale]

I remember the days of the Nigerain Scams where they would tell you you've inherited money from a relative and ask for bank details to send the inhertiance. I used to keep them busy asking them for detailed info as they were trying to scam my bank account. (I recall from a FBI site which mentioned keep them busy as much as possible so they dont scam anyone else). it was fun a while with 2 or 3 scammers but then i just stopped entertaiing them.

During Covid I got involved with a Puppy Scam group, I used to breed and show dogs. Thousands were scammed, one scammer on email I kept asking questions after awhile I just said you are a scammer. A funny way we decided was whichever state they said they were in we would ask about vaccinations, many were saying Tassie as they didn’t have a code with their Councils. Has it had its Thylacine vax, yes . So for Qld cane toad, NSWs cockroaches, can’t remember the other states