How to Report a Scam in Australia: Every Channel Explained

Australia has no single scam hotline. Different agencies do different jobs, and knowing which one does what saves time when time matters. This guide covers every national reporting channel, in the order most people should use them, with what each one can and cannot do. It applies across Australia and is general information, not advice about your situation.

For what to do in the first hour and the main scam types, start with our guide to scams in Australia.

The short version: report in this order

1. Your bank or card provider, straight away, if money or card details were involved.
2. IDCARE, if your identity documents, logins or personal details were taken.
3. Scamwatch, for any scam or suspicious contact.
4. ReportCyber, to make an official police report if you lost money or information or were extorted.
5. The agency the scammer pretended to be, such as the ATO or Services Australia, and the specialist channel for your scam type (ACMA for spam, eSafety for intimate image threats).

1. Your bank or card provider: always first

Your bank is the only place on this list that may be able to stop your money leaving. Scamwatch says to "contact your bank or card provider immediately to report the scam. Ask them to stop any transactions" (Scamwatch). ASIC adds that if you paid by bank transfer or credit card, the bank "may be able to reverse the transaction" (ASIC).

Banks can also do things you cannot. Scamwatch has said financial institutions "may be able to find where the money was sent, block the scam accounts and help others to avoid sending money to scammers" (Scamwatch, 2022).

When you call, use the number on your card, your statement or the bank's own website. Say clearly that you are reporting a scam, give the date, amount and the account or PayID you paid, and ask for a reference number. Write down who you spoke to.

If you paid with cryptocurrency, ASIC says your bank or credit union will not be able to help with that money. Report it to the crypto exchange or other provider you used to send it, as Moneysmart advises (Moneysmart), and still tell your bank if the money came from your bank account.

A real bank will not ask you to move your money. ACMA warns: "Your bank will never ask you to open a new account to keep your money safe" (ACMA). If a call about your bank feels wrong, hang up and call the bank back on a number you found yourself.

If the bank refuses to help or handles it badly, you can make a formal complaint and then go to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. That is a complaint rather than a report, and our guide to getting money back after a scam explains it.

2. IDCARE: if your identity or accounts are at risk

IDCARE is "Australia and New Zealand's national identity and cyber support service", and Scamwatch says it can help you "make a plan (for free) to limit the damage" (Scamwatch). Call 1800 595 160 (IDCARE).

Call IDCARE if you gave the scammer your licence, passport, Medicare details, tax file number or passwords, or let them onto your device. Scamwatch can also connect you: its report page says that if you are at risk of identity misuse or need support to recover from a scam, "we can help to connect you with IDCARE" (Scamwatch). In 2025 the National Anti-Scam Centre referred 8,536 Scamwatch reporters to IDCARE (ACCC).

IDCARE "will never contact you out of the blue", Scamwatch says. Anyone who calls you claiming to be IDCARE, unprompted, is not.

3. Scamwatch: the national scam report

Scamwatch takes reports of "any suspicious contact or activity", whether or not you lost money. You report online, and you can report on behalf of someone else (Scamwatch).

What a report does, in Scamwatch's words: "With your consent, we can use your report to work with organisations and remove scam websites, scam ads and contact details," and "sharing details of a scam helps us warn the community of new or emerging scams." Moneysmart adds that Scamwatch "shares reports with Australian and international law enforcement and other government organisations to help them investigate and prosecute scammers" (Moneysmart).

Scamwatch reports are one of the sources the ACCC combines in its annual scam figures (ACCC). The ACCC's National Anti-Scam Centre, "a virtual centre that sits within the ACCC", brings together government, law enforcement and the private sector to disrupt scams (National Anti-Scam Centre; ACCC).

What a Scamwatch report is not: its report page describes disruption and warnings, not recovering money or investigating your case. Report to Scamwatch, but do not wait on it before calling your bank.

4. ReportCyber: the official police report

ReportCyber is run by the Australian Cyber Security Centre on cyber.gov.au. Scamwatch's report page says: "If you've been the victim of a cybercrime (for example someone has stolen your personal information or money, or tried to extort you) you can make a police report" there (Scamwatch). Its main scam guidance describes the same link as the way to "make an official report to the police online" (Scamwatch).

Scamwatch tells people who lost money to crypto scams to report to the police through ReportCyber (Scamwatch), and ASIC suggests reporting to Scamwatch, to police and to ReportCyber after an investment scam (ASIC).

Keep any reference number you are given with your other records. For help on the phone after a cyber incident, Moneysmart lists the Australian Cyber Security Hotline, 1300 292 371, open 24 hours, 7 days (Moneysmart).

If you are in danger, or the scammer knows where you live and is threatening you, call 000 or contact your local police directly. Scamwatch says to contact the police if you are concerned for your safety (Scamwatch). If your money, personal information or accounts have been stolen, Moneysmart says you can call your local police on 131 444 or report online through ReportCyber (Moneysmart).

5. The agency the scammer pretended to be

Impersonation scams are best reported to the real organisation too, because it can warn its own customers and, in some cases, protect your account.

Australian Taxation Office

Forward scam emails pretending to be from the ATO to ReportScams@ato.gov.au. "If you have interacted with the scammer, provided personal information, or made a payment, phone us immediately on 1800 008 540" (ATO). The ATO says that if you are unsure whether a contact is genuine, do not engage and contact the ATO to check.

Services Australia, Centrelink, Medicare and myGov

Services Australia takes reports of scams impersonating it and myGov, "including Centrelink, Medicare or Child Support" (Services Australia). For an email scam, forward the entire email to reportascam@servicesaustralia.gov.au, then delete it and block the sender. For a text message scam, email a screenshot that includes the suspicious link to the same address.

Services Australia says to call its Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk immediately if you opened a link in a suspicious message, gave someone your myGov sign in details or other personal information, or visited a fake Services Australia website or downloaded a fake app. ACMA lists the Services Australia number as 1800 941 126 (ACMA). Check it on the Services Australia website itself, never in a message you received. Scams not related to Services Australia go to Scamwatch.

Remember the rule from Scamwatch: government organisations "won't ever send a text message or email with a link to log onto online services such as myGov" (Scamwatch).

Your bank, telco, toll road or delivery company

If a scammer used the name of your bank, phone company or another business, tell that business through its official website or app. Your bank needs to know if you gave out any banking details. If your mobile suddenly lost service, call your phone company at once, because a ported number sends your bank SMS codes to the scammer (Scamwatch).

6. Specialist channels by scam type

Scam texts, calls and spam: ACMA

ACMA regulates telcos and spam. You can forward SMS spam to 0429 999 888 (standard message charges apply) and email spam to report@submit.spam.acma.gov.au, without editing the message (ACMA). ACMA explains: "This is not a complaint. It is a quick way to send us a copy of the message you have received to inform our compliance activities." ACMA will collect the number or address you forwarded from.

For scams rather than ordinary spam, ACMA itself sends people elsewhere: "Report scam activity to ReportCyber and Scamwatch to help stop the scam and warn others" (ACMA). It also suggests blocking scam callers through your phone company.

The Do Not Call Register will not stop scam calls. ACMA says the register "does not block calls"; it lets businesses check their calling lists and remove registered numbers (ACMA). It is aimed at lawful telemarketers, not scammers. For the rules that bind legitimate marketers, see our guides to the Spam Act and the Do Not Call Register.

Investment and crypto scams: Scamwatch, then ASIC's role

ASIC's own instruction is to "report all scams to Scamwatch, including investment scams" (ASIC). ASIC then coordinates takedowns of investment scam websites and social media ads, and acts against companies and others who enable financial services scams. ASIC is clear that it "cannot assist in getting money back" (ASIC).

Before you report, it can help to check the company against the Moneysmart investor alert list, which ASIC says is not exhaustive. Our guide to investment scams in Australia covers licence checks and red flags.

Intimate images and sextortion: eSafety and the ACCCE

If someone is threatening to share intimate images of you, eSafety advises you to stop contact and not pay. If you are 18 or older, report the account to the platforms where the blackmailer contacted you, and if your image or video is shared, report it to eSafety, which "can help remove the content or stop the threats" (eSafety). If you are under 18, eSafety says the best way to get help is to report to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE). Scamwatch says sextortion is a serious crime that you should report to the police immediately (Scamwatch).

Our guide to sextortion in Australia explains each step.

Money mule approaches

If you were asked to receive money and pass it on, or to let someone use your bank account, tell your bank straight away and stop moving money. Scamwatch warns that acting as a money mule "is a serious crime, even if you don't know or understand how the money is being used" (Scamwatch). See our guide to money mule scams.

The platform where it happened

Report the scammer's profile, page, ad or listing to the social media site, marketplace or dating app where you met them. eSafety recommends this for adults facing sextortion, and it helps get the account removed before it reaches someone else.

What to have ready when you report

Gathering this once saves repeating yourself to each agency.

• How the scammer first contacted you (phone number, email, profile link, website address or ad).
• Dates and times of contact and of each payment.
• How you paid: bank transfer, PayID, card, crypto, gift card or money transfer, with amounts and the receiving account, PayID or wallet details.
• Screenshots of messages, profiles, websites and receipts. Take them before you block the scammer.
• Any personal details you gave away.
• Reference numbers from your bank and your police report.

Keep everything in one place. If you complain to AFCA later, it will want the same records.

Reporting for someone else

You can report a scam to Scamwatch on behalf of someone else (Scamwatch). If the person is an older relative being exploited by someone they know, 1800 ELDERHelp (1800 353 374) connects to the elder abuse phone service in each state and territory; it is not a crisis line (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing).

After you report

Follow up with your bank about your money, and watch for the follow-up approach. Scamwatch warns that 1 in 3 victims are scammed more than once, and to look out for "someone offering to help you get your money back" (Scamwatch). ASIC says any unsolicited offer to recover your money after a scam is itself a scam (ASIC).

If the scam has left you shaken, Lifeline (13 11 14) and Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) are available (Moneysmart). If your details were taken, see our guide on what to do after a data breach and the identity theft victims' certificate.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I report a scam in Australia?

Call your bank first if money or card details were involved. Then report to Scamwatch online. If you lost money or personal information, make an official police report through ReportCyber. Report impersonation scams to the agency named, such as the ATO or Services Australia.

Is Scamwatch the same as reporting to the police?

No. Scamwatch uses reports to disrupt scams and warn the public. Scamwatch points victims of cybercrime to ReportCyber to make an official police report.

Should I report a scam if I did not lose any money?

Yes. Scamwatch takes reports of any suspicious contact or activity. With your consent it can use your report to work with organisations to remove scam websites, ads and contact details, which protects the next person.

Where do I forward a scam text message?

You can forward SMS spam to ACMA on 0429 999 888. For texts pretending to be Services Australia or myGov, email a screenshot including the link to reportascam@servicesaustralia.gov.au. Report the scam itself to Scamwatch too.

How do I report a fake ATO email or call?

Forward scam emails to ReportScams@ato.gov.au. If you engaged with the scammer, gave personal information or made a payment, the ATO says to phone it immediately on 1800 008 540.

Will reporting a scam get my money back?

Reporting to Scamwatch or ReportCyber does not by itself return money. Your best chance is calling your bank quickly. If the bank does not resolve it, you can complain to the bank formally and then to AFCA.

Can I report a scam on behalf of my parent?

Yes. Scamwatch accepts reports on behalf of someone else. Help them contact their own bank too, since the bank may be able to stop or reverse a payment.

Does the Do Not Call Register stop scam calls?

No. ACMA says the register does not block calls. It lets legitimate businesses remove registered numbers from their calling lists. It is aimed at lawful telemarketers, not scammers, so block scam numbers through your phone company and report scams to Scamwatch.