Image source: myGov by Services Australia.

We all know how convenient some websites and apps such as myGov make life in Australia, but the case of an Adelaide family will make you reconsider just how safe your personal information is.

Adelaide couple Sarah and Aaron told A Current Affair a horror story of how hackers almost stole their identity and financial freedom. Sarah’s myGov account was hacked last year, with notifications informing her that she had been locked out of her account. It was too late as the damage had already been done.

​

'They‘ve been able to rack up quite a bill which now we have to pay that back,' the couple told A Current Affair. But it gets worse – hackers changed Sarah’s bank number, email address, and phone number. They had even made victims of flood claims and registered for single parenting payments, and had changed details in all of Sarah’s tax returns, trying to gain access to her superannuation.

Many of the family’s accounts are still frozen, and ordinary functions done on the MyGov app now require the couple to make a lengthy phone call. Image source: DCStudio on Freepik.

The frightening episode cost the family tens of thousands of dollars in stolen money from the government, as well as eight-months of stress. Even now, things haven’t returned to normal – many of the family’s accounts are still frozen, and ordinary functions done on the myGov app now require the couple to make a lengthy phone call.

Tragically, the couple are not alone. Victorian Mum, Sharon, told A Current Affair she had been harassed for years after hackers broke into her myGov account.

Sydney Buyers Agent Kathla, a victim of the infamous Medibank hack, also raised alarm bells after she started receiving worrying messages from myGov. In her case, her bank details had been changed to the hacker’s bank details, and her mailing address had been changed to the hacker’s mailing address. She had been targeted because of her ATO account.

​

What’s worse, this is a problem that is continuously growing. ID Care managing director David Lacey said they had seen a ten-fold increase in people coming to them who have experienced impersonation of the tax office or myGov since June.

So, members, what can you do to protect yourself and your family from the heart-breaking and life-crushing experience of identity theft? Experts recommend doing the following:

• Protect your online login details. Make sure passwords aren’t shared and are complex. If you’re worried you will forget complex passwords, write them down on a piece of paper at home and put it in a safe place.
• Be mindful when it comes to emails. Don't open anything suspicious or click on links from people you don’t know.
• Do not give away personal information to anyone.
• Regularly monitor your accounts.

Finally, if someone close to you has been affected by myGov fraud or identity theft, it’s imperative to get in touch with Centrelink or Services Australia for support as soon as possible.

Stay smart and stay vigilant, folks! Let us know your thoughts about this story in the comments below.

 

[Rob44]

Don't sign up for myGov. Don't put stuff on your mobile phone. If your government account gets hacked then the government has failed in its duty of care to protect your information then the government should pay the costs and reimburse you for the money that they have allowed to be stolen and compensate you for the stress government stupidity has permitted to be caused you. That sort of stuff needs a class action to sort out.

 

[Pink lion]

I reported a my gov scam to the Seniors group to consider warning people about as it was very cleverly done last week. Though my report seems to have been dismissed, I am glad that the members know about it as this one nearly got me.
Cheers,
Johnny

 

[Kelpie]

Don't sign up for myGov. Don't put stuff on your mobile phone. If your government account gets hacked then the government has failed in its duty of care to protect your information then the government should pay the costs and reimburse you for the money that they have allowed to be stolen and compensate you for the stress government stupidity has permitted to be caused you. That sort of stuff needs a class action to sort out.

Govts and Banks are the ones pushing for this digital crap and it is us that are forced to bear the consequences. I agree with yoy that a class action should be done to force them to refund all the losses unsuspecting people are having to suffer.
It never happend in the old days that this digital platform wasn't available nor being forced onto us.

 

[Cheezil]

View attachment 26462

Image source: myGov by Services Australia.

We all know how convenient some websites and apps such as myGov make life in Australia, but the case of an Adelaide family will make you reconsider just how safe your personal information is.

Adelaide couple Sarah and Aaron told A Current Affair a horror story of how hackers almost stole their identity and financial freedom. Sarah’s myGov account was hacked last year, with notifications informing her that she had been locked out of her account. It was too late as the damage had already been done.

​

'They‘ve been able to rack up quite a bill which now we have to pay that back,' the couple told A Current Affair. But it gets worse – hackers changed Sarah’s bank number, email address, and phone number. They had even made victims of flood claims and registered for single parenting payments, and had changed details in all of Sarah’s tax returns, trying to gain access to her superannuation.

View attachment 26463

Many of the family’s accounts are still frozen, and ordinary functions done on the MyGov app now require the couple to make a lengthy phone call. Image source: DCStudio on Freepik.

The frightening episode cost the family tens of thousands of dollars in stolen money from the government, as well as eight-months of stress. Even now, things haven’t returned to normal – many of the family’s accounts are still frozen, and ordinary functions done on the myGov app now require the couple to make a lengthy phone call.

Tragically, the couple are not alone. Victorian Mum, Sharon, told A Current Affair she had been harassed for years after hackers broke into her myGov account.

Sydney Buyers Agent Kathla, a victim of the infamous Medibank hack, also raised alarm bells after she started receiving worrying messages from myGov. In her case, her bank details had been changed to the hacker’s bank details, and her mailing address had been changed to the hacker’s mailing address. She had been targeted because of her ATO account.

​

What’s worse, this is a problem that is continuously growing. ID Care managing director David Lacey said they had seen a ten-fold increase in people coming to them who have experienced impersonation of the tax office or myGov since June.

So, members, what can you do to protect yourself and your family from the heart-breaking and life-crushing experience of identity theft? Experts recommend doing the following:

• Protect your online login details. Make sure passwords aren’t shared and are complex. If you’re worried you will forget complex passwords, write them down on a piece of paper at home and put it in a safe place.
• Be mindful when it comes to emails. Don't open anything suspicious or click on links from people you don’t know.
• Do not give away personal information to anyone.
• Regularly monitor your accounts.

Finally, if someone close to you has been affected by myGov fraud or identity theft, it’s imperative to get in touch with Centrelink or Services Australia for support as soon as possible.

Stay smart and stay vigilant, folks! Let us know your thoughts about this story in the comments below.

There's no mention/evidence here that says any of these victims actually clicked on any dodgey links or had passwords where hackers could access them, etc. Sounds like they were hacked via another method (as per the Medibank, Optus, Telstra & a few others, like the finance company i received such info from (that they'd been hacked) afterI applied for credit (over a decade ago) at Harvey Norman- i still dont know for sure if my info was comprimised or not (not been hacked yet so far), it puts a nasty taste in my mouth that's for sure, knowing that any day i could end up a victim just like the people in this article!
It really stinks how easily this can happen & how little our govt cares to protect or even assist these victims after having their lives torn apart!

 

[Cheezil]

Don't sign up for myGov. Don't put stuff on your mobile phone. If your government account gets hacked then the government has failed in its duty of care to protect your information then the government should pay the costs and reimburse you for the money that they have allowed to be stolen and compensate you for the stress government stupidity has permitted to be caused you. That sort of stuff needs a class action to sort out.

Do we actually get a chouce not to sign up? How do we actually do our tax, Centrelink & Medicare business without MyGov?
I was of the impression that if i didn't sign up for it i would not receive low income card or any Centrelink benefits (i don't get anything from Clink as i work & earn too much now, but thought i was gonna be needing them a year ago) but will need them later down the track for sure - scarey thought

 

[Kelpie]

There's no mention/evidence here that says any of these victims actually clicked on any dodgey links or had passwords where hackers could access them, etc. Sounds like they were hacked via another method (as per the Medibank, Optus, Telstra & a few others, like the finance company i received such info from (that they'd been hacked) afterI applied for credit (over a decade ago) at Harvey Norman- i still dont know for sure if my info was comprimised or not (not been hacked yet so far), it puts a nasty taste in my mouth that's for sure, knowing that any day i could end up a victim just like the people in this article!
It really stinks how easily this can happen & how little our govt cares to protect or even assist these victims after having their lives torn apart!

Totally agree with your comments, especially the closing paragraph where you are saying that the Government should be held accountable for forcing these problems upon us.

 

[Kelpie]

Do we actually get a chouce not to sign up? How do we actually do our tax, Centrelink & Medicare business without MyGov?
I was of the impression that if i didn't sign up for it i would not receive low income card or any Centrelink benefits (i don't get anything from Clink as i work & earn too much now, but thought i was gonna be needing them a year ago) but will need them later down the track for sure - scarey thought

We are an easy target by these scammers as they know everything about everything. I have been scammed badly and by a very large amount of money even without clicking on anything.
How do they know our bank accounts details and how do they know how the Banks are actually operating.?
I only hope that I can recover that large amount of money they took from me but I find it hard to digest when I believe that it is the Bank and the Government's fault for what has happened to me.

 

[Trudi]

My partner showed me an email last Saturday that was supposedly from the ATO via myGov, advising that he would receive an amount of money. Interesting, as he has not yet lodged his tax return!

The email indicated that he had to pay a fee to claim the money and asked for him to click onto a link. Obviously, he did not click onto the link but he copied the email and reported the scam.

 

[Trudi]

Totally agree with your comments, especially the closing paragraph where you are saying that the Government should be held accountable for forcing these problems upon us.

Sorry, but it is not the government's responsibility to protect us from all evils. We are adults after all and need to accept responsibiltiy for our actions!

 

[Kelpie]

My partner showed me an email last Saturday that was supposedly from the ATO via myGov, advising that he would receive an amount of money. Interesting, as he has not yet lodged his tax return!

The email indicated that he had to pay a fee to claim the money and asked for him to click onto a link. Obviously, he did not click onto the link but he copied the email and reported the scam.

Good action.

 

[Kelpie]

Sorry, but it is not the government's responsibility to protect us from all evils. We are adults after all and need to accept responsibiltiy for our actions!

What action. I didn't do anything wrong. This person (Conman) knew my Bank accounts and he also knew how to get the six digit code from my Bank while he knew as well how my Bank operates. I don't tell that to anyone.
The Governemnt should stop pushing us towards this Digital crap knowing full weel that it only helps the scammers. After all they, the Government departments, are getting scammed and hacked themselves, are they not.?
Let people who wants a face to face dealing with their Bank managers continue to be doing so, and let the one choosing to use the digital techonology to use if they so desire. We are living in a free and democratic World here in Australia, are we not.?

 

[Teddy10]

Sorry, but it is not the government's responsibility to protect us from all evils. We are adults after all and need to accept responsibiltiy for our actions!

Ouch, bit harsh. 'Accept responsibility for our actions!' What action, you don't need to 'action' it is taken without our knowledge. And yes the banks & Govt can do a LOT more to protect us.

 

[kevinwoodtufftyke52@gmail]

View attachment 26462

Image source: myGov by Services Australia.

We all know how convenient some websites and apps such as myGov make life in Australia, but the case of an Adelaide family will make you reconsider just how safe your personal information is.

Adelaide couple Sarah and Aaron told A Current Affair a horror story of how hackers almost stole their identity and financial freedom. Sarah’s myGov account was hacked last year, with notifications informing her that she had been locked out of her account. It was too late as the damage had already been done.

​

'They‘ve been able to rack up quite a bill which now we have to pay that back,' the couple told A Current Affair. But it gets worse – hackers changed Sarah’s bank number, email address, and phone number. They had even made victims of flood claims and registered for single parenting payments, and had changed details in all of Sarah’s tax returns, trying to gain access to her superannuation.

View attachment 26463

Many of the family’s accounts are still frozen, and ordinary functions done on the MyGov app now require the couple to make a lengthy phone call. Image source: DCStudio on Freepik.

The frightening episode cost the family tens of thousands of dollars in stolen money from the government, as well as eight-months of stress. Even now, things haven’t returned to normal – many of the family’s accounts are still frozen, and ordinary functions done on the myGov app now require the couple to make a lengthy phone call.

Tragically, the couple are not alone. Victorian Mum, Sharon, told A Current Affair she had been harassed for years after hackers broke into her myGov account.

Sydney Buyers Agent Kathla, a victim of the infamous Medibank hack, also raised alarm bells after she started receiving worrying messages from myGov. In her case, her bank details had been changed to the hacker’s bank details, and her mailing address had been changed to the hacker’s mailing address. She had been targeted because of her ATO account.

​

What’s worse, this is a problem that is continuously growing. ID Care managing director David Lacey said they had seen a ten-fold increase in people coming to them who have experienced impersonation of the tax office or myGov since June.

So, members, what can you do to protect yourself and your family from the heart-breaking and life-crushing experience of identity theft? Experts recommend doing the following:

• Protect your online login details. Make sure passwords aren’t shared and are complex. If you’re worried you will forget complex passwords, write them down on a piece of paper at home and put it in a safe place.
• Be mindful when it comes to emails. Don't open anything suspicious or click on links from people you don’t know.
• Do not give away personal information to anyone.
• Regularly monitor your accounts.

Finally, if someone close to you has been affected by myGov fraud or identity theft, it’s imperative to get in touch with Centrelink or Services Australia for support as soon as possible.

Stay smart and stay vigilant, folks! Let us know your thoughts about this story in the comments below.

So much for government security! The government should fix and re-imburse anyone affected by this crime.

 

[kevinwoodtufftyke52@gmail]

Sorry, but it is not the government's responsibility to protect us from all evils. We are adults after all and need to accept responsibiltiy for our actions!

It is the Government's responsibility.

 

[Kelpie]

It is the Government's responsibility.

They are the ones who makes the Law which are subsequenlty forced upon us and they should be forced to bear the consequences.