Services Australia warns recipients to be vigilant over ‘bonus’ Centrelink payments

As the cost of living continues to rise, many Australians are looking for financial relief, and scammers are exploiting this vulnerability with false promises of 'bonus' payments from Centrelink.

It's a cruel trick that could lead to the loss of personal information and financial security.



Services Australia, the government body responsible for social security payments, has issued a stern warning to Centrelink recipients: be vigilant and don't be misled by unofficial websites and social media accounts claiming to offer a ‘one-off payment’, ‘cash relief payment’, or ‘bonus payment’.

The truth is, there is no such bonus payment being offered by Centrelink.


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Services Australia issued a stern warning to Centrelink recipients over fake ‘bonus’ payments. Credit: Shutterstock


‘They’re targeting our customers by falsely saying there’s an extra payment coming to help ease the cost-of-living pressures. There is no bonus payment,’ Services Australia said.

‘If you visit one of these websites or click on their links on social media, you’re at risk of being scammed. Don’t trust unofficial websites or social media accounts for advice about Centrelink payments.’

It's important to remember that official communication from Services Australia will only come from verified sources.



The safest way to check for legitimate information about Centrelink payments and services is by visiting the official Services Australia website, which ends in .gov.au.

If you're ever in doubt, you can also call Services Australia directly to verify any information you've received.

In the past, similar scams have targeted older Australians with false claims of extra payments for those on the age pension.

These scams have offered varying amounts of money, including $750 and $1,800, to entice individuals into their traps.



But the deception doesn't stop there. Other scams involve fraudsters impersonating Services Australia officials and calling people to claim they owe an urgent debt.

These scammers use fear tactics, threatening arrest if the supposed debt isn't paid immediately via bank transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrency.

Services Australia's advice is clear: if you receive such a call, hang up immediately.

Tip
If you suspect a scam or believe you may be the victim of fraud, report it to Scamwatch here.

According to Scamwatch data, Australians have lost over $134 million to scams this year alone, with investment scams leading the way, followed by romance and phishing scams.

The sophistication of these scams has increased, with reports of scammers accessing Australians' Centrelink, Australian Taxation Office, and Medicare accounts by creating fake myGov accounts through a process known as ‘unauthorised linking’.

This involves linking a legitimate myGov account with a fake one set up by the scammer, often without the victim's knowledge.
Key Takeaways
  • Services Australia warned of scams offering fake 'bonus' cash payments purportedly to assist with cost-of-living pressures.
  • Scammers are attempting to lure individuals with claims of additional Centrelink payments that do not exist, aiming to steal personal information.
  • Recipients are urged only to trust the official Services Australia website or call to verify information rather than relying on unofficial websites or social media.
  • Australians have been advised to be cautious of scams impersonating Centrelink, myGov, and Medicare, with scammers using tactics like threatening immediate arrest over fake debts to coerce payments.
Have you or someone you know been targeted by a Centrelink-related scam? Share your story in the comments below to help others stay vigilant.
 
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Beware for sure...!
Did you know, if you are fighting a case for compensation from an accident etc. and WIN... not only are you unable to get any assistance for ANYTHING, from Centrelink for the next TWO YEARS, but... ALL PAYMENTS of assistance during your trial, eg, unemployment, disability, medicare and even PRIVATE Health Insurance, will be DEDUCTED from your compensation and returned to every one of these providers?????
Isn't that what the money is for? To pay your medical bills? To help you back to good health and work? It's not an income replacement.
 
Beware for sure...!
Did you know, if you are fighting a case for compensation from an accident etc. and WIN... not only are you unable to get any assistance for ANYTHING, from Centrelink for the next TWO YEARS, but... ALL PAYMENTS of assistance during your trial, eg, unemployment, disability, medicare and even PRIVATE Health Insurance, will be DEDUCTED from your compensation and returned to every one of these providers?????

Can you still get your pension ? If you win, Insurance etc would be paid out of course before your total I've been told. Why can't you get Medicare ?
 
$1,000 a m

$1,000 a every 6 months? Could you show proof of that 🤔

Age Pension, Disability Support Pension or Carer Payment​

In any 6 months or 13 fortnights you can only get one of these:
  • one advance at the highest amount
  • up to 2 advances of smaller amounts
  • 3 advances at the lowest amount.
You can’t get another advance if you have less than the lowest advance amount available. If you have less than the lowest advance amount available, you’ll need to wait until you’re eligible again.

You can ask to have the amount paid all at once or in 2 instalments.

The lowest and highest amounts change along with pension amounts each March and September.

Your situationLowest amountHighest amount
You’re single$529.15$1587.45
You’re part of a couple$398.85$1196.55

From the Services Australia website.

 
I tried to sign into Mygov one night and was advised I had been locked out and to contact Services Australia. I did so and what had happened was their cyber security team identified that an unknown person had tried to access my account and change my banking details held by Centrelink, so my payments would go to the scammer instead of me. The cyber guy I spoke to said all was okay and I would be getting paid as normal but, and here it is, I had to go into Centrelink and prove my identity. This process took several weeks and until that was resolved I couldn't access Centrelink via Mygov. This was chance I found out about it, just wanting to check something one night alerted me to this, who knows what could have happened if I hadn't tried to access my account. Since the Optus breach and the Medibank breach of which I was caught up in both all sorts of weird stuff has happened. Be vigilant people be aware and if it feels funky don't go near it and report it.
That's scary! Thanks for the warning.
 
That also happened to me. I had to go into Centrelink for an interview and go through the whole process again, i.e. new password, etc. After that I learned never to click on a message on the phone purporting to be from Centrelink. They told me they NEVER send messages to a phone, but they will send you an email.
Thanks. I get messages supposedly from my gov
on my phone. When I check on my gov. They are bogus not applicable.
 
You can request an advance payment of your pension every 6 months.
I think this is what the other person was referring to.
It van be as much as $ 1200-1300 depending upon what benefit you receive.

Please note that this is like a loan.
An amount, set by Centrelink is deducted then from your pension each fortnight for 13 fortnights (6 months).
This is called an Advance payment.
This can be repaid faster but bear in mind that if you do, then it might cause them to question where you got the extra money to do so. !
 
About 6 or 7 months ago, I logged on to myGov and jumped in to my ATO account. I saw I was about to get a $22,000 tax refund. I thought it a bit strange, since I had not worked for the FY. Since the payment had not been paid yet, I immediately contacted the ATO. They were very nice and stopped the payment.
Within only minutes, my email account was bombarded with hundreds of emails, all different languages, which I now had to unsubscribe from individually. I was told my account had been hacked.
This occurred only days after changing passwords on many sites. I adhered to all the professional advice, changed all my passwords regularly, and still got hacked.
We can't win.
The damn hackers are getting too smart - one step ahead of us all (so it seems ) :(
 
That wont help. Its not the ONLY way hackers or scammers get your password! It happened to me on Friday!
I got a Medicare scam message on Saturday. It wanted to check my details. That was ok until it came to my card. But Is wasn’t a Medicare card detail they wanted but a cre card details! It became obvious when they wanted my number and my date of birth and. then expiry date which it wouldn’t accept and my security code. Credit cards have these, medicare cards do not. Stopped these and rubbed out all the data I had entered and dumped it as scam! So watch out. Medic have my details and I don’t pa them which when I went back to the original message was worded so that you wouldn’t realise that they wanted your money. I pay mine at tax time. Beware!
 
Yes! This happened to me on Friday! I lost my pension. From my stupidity, i answered an ad on Facebook from "National Housing Affordability Scheme" and in the conversation on messenger, they gleaned the info and identity documents out of me!!! I did get my pension back but i was ready to kill myself.
This is why you should NEVER trust ads on FB. There have been several fake ads offering benefits over the last few weeks.
 
Just received a scam letter from MyGov stating that I have tax activity requiring my attention. This is so obvious to me since I haven't worked for the last 22 years. It was addressed to "undisclosed recipients and sever bigpond people which would make you wonder to start with: The Logo was a large W at the left at the top of the email.


You have pending tax activity for the year 2024 that requires your attention.

Please review the nominated details to resolve this matter.

To proceed, please view the notice on your MyGov:Dasboard .

Best regards,


The Tax Team
 
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That also happened to me. I had to go into Centrelink for an interview and go through the whole process again, i.e. new password, etc. After that I learned never to click on a message on the phone purporting to be from Centrelink. They told me they NEVER send messages to a phone, but they will send you an email.
They do send messages to your phone though. When we Re apply for our cards they send messages saying to check our my gov account for updates. Or your claim has been processed. Or your claim has been received and will be processed by January (but wasn’t until April).
 
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Yes! This happened to me on Friday! I lost my pension. From my stupidity, i answered an ad on Facebook from "National Housing Affordability Scheme" and in the conversation on messenger, they gleaned the info and identity documents out of me!!! I did get my pension back but i was ready to kill myself.
National Housing Affordability Scheme is just about finished. The Government’s decided to end it 2024-25. That’s part of the reason there’s a housing shortage, along with rents going sky high in the private rental market.
 
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I have been a pensioner for many years & have never heard this nonsense of receiving $1000 every six months. All you get, & all you are entitled to, is your pension every fortnight.
I didn’t realise it was $1000 but I expect you would have to pay it all back before borrowing again, which would probably take more than 6 months !
 
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I received an email a few mths ago from MyGov but not being a very trusting person I logged onto MyGov account first and had a message there as well. Both the email & the message were the same, someone had tried to get into my MyGov account at around 6:00amish that morning but were stumped by my security questions. Changed my password, then contacted MyGov & on their advice also changed all my security questions. They suggested having a pin code sent out to my phone whenever I wanted to go on MyGov account but more often than not I don't have reception where I live so that wasn't an option. Maybe it is an option for others though.
Beginning of last wk I got an email from MyGov telling me that I had a message on MyGov and to go to my account to read the message. I waited till Friday before doing this and there was no message there from them. Have to admit I am a bit confused by this.
 
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As a pensioner I don't know anything about the $1000 every 6 months. DO you borrow money from the government and have to pay it back .PLEASE EXPLAIN
 
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