Safety
The most common scams targeting newcomers
Tax / Home Affairs impersonation calls. Phishing texts. Romance and investment scams. Visa, rental and job-offer scams. Where to report, what banks can and can't recover.
Published 17 May 2026 · Last reviewed 17 May 2026
In 2024, Scamwatch and related agencies recorded over $2 billion in scam losses. Newcomers and international students are over-represented among victims.
Tax / Home Affairs / Police impersonation calls
- "There is a warrant for your arrest. You must pay $X immediately to avoid deportation/imprisonment."
- The ATO, Home Affairs and the police NEVER call demanding immediate payment.
- Hang up. Don't engage. Call the agency directly using a number from their official website.
Phishing texts
- "Your parcel could not be delivered, click here to reschedule."
- "Your Medicare account requires verification, click here."
- "Bank: unusual activity detected, sign in here."
- Don't click. Go to the official app or website directly.
Romance scams
- Someone meets you online, builds rapport over weeks or months, then has a "crisis" requiring you to send money. Often offshore.
- The Australian Federal Police estimate over $200 million is lost annually to these.
- If you've never met them in person and they ask for money, it's a scam.
Investment scams
- Cold calls or social media ads offering high returns on crypto, forex, gold or shares.
- ASIC's "MoneySmart" maintains a list of unlicensed companies: https://moneysmart.gov.au/check-and-report-scams
- Any investment offering >10% return with "no risk" is a scam.
Visa / migration scams
- "Pay this person and we'll guarantee your PR" or "We have a connection inside Home Affairs."
- Home Affairs makes no decisions based on payments to third parties. Migration agents who charge fees must be MARA-registered. See migration agent help.
- "Fee for arranging Australian work" charged to overseas workers — illegal under Australian law and exploitative.
Rental scams
- Listings for properties that don't exist or the lister doesn't own. They ask for bond money upfront before you've seen the property.
- Never pay bond or rent before you've physically inspected the property and verified the agent's identity (a quick Google check + a call to the listed agency).
Job offer scams
- "Job" requires you to pay a fee for training or equipment.
- "Job" requires you to process payments through your bank account (money mule schemes).
- Real Australian employers never ask employees to pay for the job.
Tax-related scams
- The "you have a tax debt and a warrant" scam mentioned above is the biggest one.
- "Refund pending" scams asking for bank details to process.
- The ATO calls only after written contact. They do not request gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers.
Report scams
- Scamwatch: https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam (anyone can report, free, anonymous if preferred).
- Australian Cyber Security Centre (ReportCyber): https://www.cyber.gov.au/report-and-recover/report
- IDCARE for identity recovery: https://www.idcare.org/ — free service for ID theft victims.