News and alerts

Police have received reports of scams involving fake Australian Federal Police (AFP) representatives targeting vulnerable members of the community.

Since August 2021, many Australians have been getting scam text messages about tracking a delivery, missed calls or voicemails, along with a link to download some software. If you receive one of these messages, do not click or tap on the link. Delete the message immediately.

Investment scams reported to Scamwatch have cost Australians over $70 million in the first half of this year, more than the total losses reported to Scamwatch for all of 2020, and projected losses are set to reach $140 million by the end of the year.

So far this year scammers have stolen more than $7.2 million from Australians by gaining access to home computers, an increase of 184 per cent compared to the same period last year.