How the National Anti-Scam Centre uses scam reports
Your report helps us monitor scam trends and take action where appropriate, including to educate the public on new or emerging scams.
If a person contacts you out of the blue about your scam report, hang up and ask to call them back on their official number that you have looked up yourself. Ask them to verify your report or case number and don’t give your personal information.
To avoid being scammed, never give personal information to someone who calls, emails, or messages you out of the blue without being sure they are who they say they are.
We share reports to help disrupt scams
When you report scams, you may be asked whether you agree to share your report. Some of the sharing arrangements we have in place are explained below. All entities we share with are required to comply with Australian Privacy Laws and where relevant privacy laws in other countries.
Other government agencies and law enforcement
Your report will often include important information about scammers. This might include the name the scammer is using, the phone number or email address. You might report scam websites or scam ads or profiles on social media. We share this intelligence with other government agencies and law enforcement to investigate scammers or to stop them reaching people in Australia.
The Australian Financial Crimes Exchange
The Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX) is a not-for-profit organisation that provides a secure, strictly monitored portal for the public and private sectors to share financial crime data and intelligence.
Sharing reports with the AFCX assists banks and the financial sector to identify scam accounts and scam transactions and disrupt scams.
Businesses that scammers use
Businesses such as banks, telecommunications companies, social media platforms or employment sites may be unaware how their services are being used to perpetrate scams. They will often take action to try and prevent or disrupt scam activity once they are informed about it.
By sharing your report with the businesses that the scammers use, they can stop scams from impacting other people.
If you consent to share your report with businesses, we will only use or disclose your personal information for the purpose of preventing, detecting or disrupting scams. We only share information that may be useful in helping businesses work out how the scam occurred and how to prevent it in the future.
We can help you access support
With your consent, we may refer your report to a support service. If you are at risk of identity misuse or need support to recover from the impact of some scams, we may refer your report to IDCARE.
We educate and warn others about scams
Real life stories have a powerful impact on others. They help people see that scams can happen to anyone and provide useful information about how others can protect themselves.
If you share your report anonymously to warn others about scams, we may use information in your report in our reports or campaigns. For example, we might write about your experience in a case study. If we do this, we make sure that you can't be identified.