Centrelink customers are being warned of a phone scam that has begun targeting Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland residents. The scam involves calls from a person who claims to be from Centrelink, who then requests a payment of hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.
The caller then instructs the person to send the money, which they say is ‘owed to Centrelink’ as a cheque in the post. Centrelink says it would never call anyone and ask for money. In 2010, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) received 42,000 reports of scams and reported losses totalling more than $63 million.
Anyone suspecting they have received a scam phone call should report it to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 1300 795 995.