There is no doubt that 2020 was already a trying year for many of us, but for Melbourne resident Sharon, it was especially difficult. In early 2020, she received an alarming notification informing her of an unauthorised access attempt to her myGov account.

Despite catching it early, changing her password, and reporting the breach to authorities, hackers are still managing to access her data three years on.

Is your myGov account safe and secure? Image source: Shutterstock.

Sharon is warning other Australians to be vigilant with their online protection, telling 3AW's Neil Mitchell:

'I'm still battling scammers and fraud... It's been a nightmare. It's just been so consuming. They hacked my account on myGov, and I don't know how they did that.'

Unfortunately, Sharon isn’t alone, with hundreds of other Australians reporting similar incidents involving the myGov account system, many of which relate to data and information such as tax, Centrelink and Medicare, according to 9News.

Sharon explained that the hackers accessed as much of her data as they could, even claiming $47,000 from ATO in a business activity statement.

Not only has Sharon been dealing with additional credit card applications made in her name and disturbing threats on the dark web, but the scam has proven to be rather sophisticated and difficult to protect against, according to one cybersecurity expert:

'The cyber criminals trawl that information and they piece it together and gain enough information to get around the security questions to overtake someone's myGov account,' Professor Nigel Phair said.

Since the beginning of 2023, 3180 Australians, according to the ACCC's Scamwatch, have been affected by this same kind of cyber attack, making it one of the most significant threats to Australians today.

Key Takeaways

• Sharon, a Melbourne resident, received a notification in 2020 that someone was attempting to access her myGov account, and hackers are still accessing her data three years later.
• Despite changing her password and contacting authorities, her data from the Australian Tax Office, Medicare, and Centrelink has been harvested, and scammers have claimed money and applied for credit cards in her name.
• Sharon is not alone, as 9News is aware of other similar incidents.
• Cybersecurity experts said this type of scam is sophisticated and can be hard to protect against. Since the beginning of the year, 3180 Australians have been hacked, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) Scamwatch.

While the ATO has since withdrawn the claim against Sharon, she has been forced to change her driver's licence due to the incident. It is undoubtedly still a stressful and ongoing saga for Sharon, who has lost much of her financial and personal data.

‘It all started in 2020, and I have got a file probably 25cm thick. I've had to do so much, it consumes you.’

For seniors living in Australia, cyber fraud is a growing problem. Scammers often target older individuals because they are likelier to fall for their ‘tactics’. Common scams affecting seniors include convincing them to transfer money for fraudulent investments, purchasing goods that never arrive, stealing personal information, and even identity theft. Aside from phishing scams, other frauds can also include door-to-door scams, robocall scams, and email and text message scams.

It's important for all Australians to be aware of the most common scams out there, so they can protect their personal information and avoid becoming the victim of an online scam. Additionally, it's important to stay up to date on the latest security practices and trends to identify potential scams and take preventative action.

We do our absolute best to stay on top of every scam we and our members come across here on our Scam Watch Forum. If you come across something that you are unsure is a scam or not, or if you come across something you know is a scam, we recommend posting about it on our Scam Watch forum to educate other members on the most up-to-date scams circulating.

There is no doubt that education and awareness are key components to helping us all stay safe online.

Members, this story serves as a reminder to take extra care and pay attention to your online security. Keeping your passwords complex and changing them regularly can help keep your data safe. If you believe you've been affected by a similar attack, we strongly recommend you contact the ACCC's Scamwatch or your bank or service provider as soon as possible to seek help.

 

[pascoevale]

There is no doubt that 2020 was already a trying year for many of us, but for Melbourne resident Sharon, it was especially difficult. In early 2020, she received an alarming notification informing her of an unauthorised access attempt to her myGov account.

Despite catching it early, changing her password, and reporting the breach to authorities, hackers are still managing to access her data three years on.

View attachment 18897

Is your myGov account safe and secure? Image source: Shutterstock.

Sharon is warning other Australians to be vigilant with their online protection, telling 3AW's Neil Mitchell:

'I'm still battling scammers and fraud... It's been a nightmare. It's just been so consuming. They hacked my account on myGov, and I don't know how they did that.'

Unfortunately, Sharon isn’t alone, with hundreds of other Australians reporting similar incidents involving the myGov account system, many of which relate to data and information such as tax, Centrelink and Medicare, according to 9News.

Sharon explained that the hackers accessed as much of her data as they could, even claiming $47,000 from ATO in a business activity statement.

Not only has Sharon been dealing with additional credit card applications made in her name and disturbing threats on the dark web, but the scam has proven to be rather sophisticated and difficult to protect against, according to one cybersecurity expert:

'The cyber criminals trawl that information and they piece it together and gain enough information to get around the security questions to overtake someone's myGov account,' Professor Nigel Phair said.

Since the beginning of 2023, 3180 Australians, according to the ACCC's Scamwatch, have been affected by this same kind of cyber attack, making it one of the most significant threats to Australians today.

Key Takeaways

• Sharon, a Melbourne resident, received a notification in 2020 that someone was attempting to access her myGov account, and hackers are still accessing her data three years later.
• Despite changing her password and contacting authorities, her data from the Australian Tax Office, Medicare, and Centrelink has been harvested, and scammers have claimed money and applied for credit cards in her name.
• Sharon is not alone, as 9News is aware of other similar incidents.
• Cybersecurity experts said this type of scam is sophisticated and can be hard to protect against. Since the beginning of the year, 3180 Australians have been hacked, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) Scamwatch.

While the ATO has since withdrawn the claim against Sharon, she has been forced to change her driver's licence due to the incident. It is undoubtedly still a stressful and ongoing saga for Sharon, who has lost much of her financial and personal data.

‘It all started in 2020, and I have got a file probably 25cm thick. I've had to do so much, it consumes you.’

For seniors living in Australia, cyber fraud is a growing problem. Scammers often target older individuals because they are likelier to fall for their ‘tactics’. Common scams affecting seniors include convincing them to transfer money for fraudulent investments, purchasing goods that never arrive, stealing personal information, and even identity theft. Aside from phishing scams, other frauds can also include door-to-door scams, robocall scams, and email and text message scams.

It's important for all Australians to be aware of the most common scams out there, so they can protect their personal information and avoid becoming the victim of an online scam. Additionally, it's important to stay up to date on the latest security practices and trends to identify potential scams and take preventative action.

We do our absolute best to stay on top of every scam we and our members come across here on our Scam Watch Forum. If you come across something that you are unsure is a scam or not, or if you come across something you know is a scam, we recommend posting about it on our Scam Watch forum to educate other members on the most up-to-date scams circulating.

There is no doubt that education and awareness are key components to helping us all stay safe online.

Members, this story serves as a reminder to take extra care and pay attention to your online security. Keeping your passwords complex and changing them regularly can help keep your data safe. If you believe you've been affected by a similar attack, we strongly recommend you contact the ACCC's Scamwatch or your bank or service provider as soon as possible to seek help.

This is the government getting us to believe it is bullet proof with tight security but it’s not and they try selling the Australia ID card this is why everyone needs to be aware of hackers and how bad it is why so how can we expect the proposed ID card to e so secure they hackers will find a way around it in know time why does so much personal information have to be out there

 

[Catherines]

I had a recorded call on my mobile the other day saying they were from the Immigration Department.

I knew straight away it was a scam - first it was recorded, second I’ve been in this country since the 1960s, thirdly I haven’t been overseas for many years so no need for immigration to contact me. I didn’t let the recorded call go any further and DISCONNECTED.

Looks like this might be another scammer doing the rounds, for what I don’t know because I didn’t let the call go any further.

 

[Trudi]

It would be useful if the article explained in detail of how the scammers managed to gain access to the woman's record! Also, surely, when you report this kind of occurence to myGov, they would be closing the account in question to ensure that no further access to the compromised account was available.

 

[Gsr]

My thoughts exactly, why hasn’t myGov account been closed and restarted using new passwords etc etc. has it been investigated to make sure it is not someone within the myGov staff who is responsible. Now we here that Centrelink staff are going to be given access to more myGov clients accounts to supposedly “check up on them”. This should not be allowed. How does anyone know if there information is being accessed illegally. I’m sure there are people amongst the Centrelink staff who are not to be trusted with people’s confidential information, every workplace has some less than honest workers.

 

[Trudi]

My thoughts exactly, why hasn’t myGov account been closed and restarted using new passwords etc etc. has it been investigated to make sure it is not someone within the myGov staff who is responsible. Now we here that Centrelink staff are going to be given access to more myGov clients accounts to supposedly “check up on them”. This should not be allowed. How does anyone know if there information is being accessed illegally. I’m sure there are people amongst the Centrelink staff who are not to be trusted with people’s confidential information, every workplace has some less than honest workers.

I don't kniw where you got this info from. Data sharing with Centrelink has been in place for a number of years. A couple of government agencies that provide information to Centrelink are the ATO and Immigration and there could be more.

 

[Gsr]

I don't kniw where you got this info from. Data sharing with Centrelink has been in place for a number of years. A couple of government agencies that provide information to Centrelink are the ATO and Immigration and there could be more.

I recently read a news story that stated that staff who work in services Australia are going to be able to bypass customers passwords to gain access to their Centrelink, mygov, ato accounts and probably more as part of their day to day work. One would hope this is never allowed as it leaves itself open to all sorts of data hacking scenarios.

 

[pascoevale]

My thoughts exactly, why hasn’t myGov account been closed and restarted using new passwords etc etc. has it been investigated to make sure it is not someone within the myGov staff who is responsible. Now we here that Centrelink staff are going to be given access to more myGov clients accounts to supposedly “check up on them”. This should not be allowed. How does anyone know if there information is being accessed illegally. I’m sure there are people amongst the Centrelink staff who are not to be trusted with people’s confidential information, every workplace has some less than honest workers.

Spot on Gsr you will be correct it’s happened before ,hush ,hush there is no doubt plenty or Rorts there to good example is the robodebt debacle
.Hackers will have a field day if they are allowed to introduce a Australian ID card look now it’s bad enough and .We nearly all have a Drivers license and or Centrelink /tax file why more duplication

 

[pascoevale]

It would be useful if the article explained in detail of how the scammers managed to gain access to the woman's record! Also, surely, when you report this kind of occurence to myGov, they would be closing the account in question to ensure that no further access to the compromised account was available.

Watch scammer payback on YouTube there is a wealth of information and learning how they do it and information the programs it happens world wide the scammers are very convincping and cunning manipulators

 

[sadiyad]

Wow, that's a seriously scary situation for Sharon! Cybersecurity is crucial, and it's a bummer to hear she's still dealing with the fallout from that breach after all this time.
If anyone out there is worried about their online safety, getting Microsoft Certified can be a total game-changer! It can help folks level up their digital defense skills!
It's vital to stay vigilant and protect our accounts like Fort Knox, you know? Changing passwords and reporting incidents pronto is a solid start, but staying proactive and keeping our security knowledge up-to-date is key!