What To Do If You Think You’ve Been Scammed

Realising you’ve been scammed can feel awful — embarrassing, frustrating, and sometimes frightening. But you’re not alone, and there are clear steps you can take to limit the damage and protect yourself.

What to Do if Scammed? Act Quickly

First, don’t panic. Scammers rely on confusion and shame to stop victims from acting quickly. Take a deep breath and follow these steps:

1. Contact your bank immediately.

   Explain what’s happened. Banks have specialist fraud teams who can try to stop or recover funds. The sooner you call, the better the chance.

   
   

2. Change your passwords.

   Start with your email, banking, and social media accounts. Use strong passwords, and don’t reuse them across different logins.

   
   

3. Report it.

   Go to www.scamwatch.gov.au or www.cyber.gov.au. You can also contact IDCARE, a free service that helps Australians recover from identity theft and scams.

   
   

4. Warn others.

   Let friends and family know, so they can be alert too. This is especially important if the scam came through social media or email.

Who to Contact

It’s important to remember: anyone can be scammed. These criminals are professionals and very good at deceiving people. They target trust, not weakness. The smartest thing you can do is act quickly, learn from it, and share what happened.

Every report helps protect someone else.