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Home > Consumers > Scams and fraud > Protect yourself

Protect yourself

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Don't be a scam victim

Report a scam

If you believe you have been scammed or spotted a scam, please report it to us.

For more information on protecting yourself from scams, visit the ScamWatch website.

Protect yourself online

For every convenience the internet offers, there is a criminal looking for ways to use it to make money.

But the news isn´t all bad. With a few simple steps you can protect yourself, your ID and your money.

For more information on how to protect yourself online, visit ScamWatch or Stay Smart Online.

Protecting your identity

When people think about the risks of ID theft, they generally think about someone stealing their savings. But if you think you have nothing to steal, think again.

Not only will criminals try to gain access to your bank accounts, they will also take out loans and credit cards in your name or even remortgage your house.

For information on protecting your identity, visit:

Hint: Never send your personal or bank details via email or text and only provide information on secure web sites owned by organisations you know and trust.

Protecting your identity - social networking

Social networking sites allow you to reconnect with friends, make new social and business contacts, and share information, opinions and updates on your life.

Unfortunately, criminals are tapping into the rich amount of information available on social networking sites to steal your ID, ask your friends for money or download spy ware onto your computer.

For information on how to protect yourself when social networking visit:

Hint: Think about what information you make available to different types of friends. You can customise how much information each contact can see via your network´s privacy settings. Simply visit the help section on your social networking site for information on how to protect your information and remember to check your privacy settings frequently.

Shopping online

Shopping online can be a convenient and cost effective way to purchase goods. However, you should be extremely careful who you give your personal and credit card details to.

For information on how to protect yourself when shopping online, visit:

Hint: Never provide your personal or credit cards details on an unsecured site. To find out if a site is secure, look for a padlock in the bottom right corner of your screen, or check to see that the address starts with https.

Hoax emails (phishing) and texts (smishing)

Cyber criminals use hoax emails and texts to try to gain access to your personal or bank information.

These messages often look like they´ve come from a legitimate bank, internet provider, university or government agency and ask you to provide your personal details or click through to a website.

Unfortunately links are not always what they seem and can lead to dodgy sites that download malicious software such as spyware or a virus onto your system, which are then used to find out your personal information.

For information on how to protect yourself from hoax messages visit:

Hint: To check where a link will really take you, hover your mouse icon over the link. The real address should appear in the bottom left hand corner of your screen.

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Last reviewed 11/04/2013

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