You’ve been scammed! What can you do once it has happened?

Have you been a target of a scam recently? fizkes/Shutterstock.com

While you can avoid being scammed by ignoring emails and text messages that make dodgy or unbelievable offers or ask you to click on fake websites. But not everybody is totally scam-aware all the time.

A Choice survey found that 52 per cent of respondents believe they’re being targeted by a scam every week and nine out of 10 said they had come across at least one suspected scam in the past year.

If you’ve lost money or personal details to a scammer, you’re not alone. Thousands of Australians are scammed out of their money or personal information every year.

If this happens to you, you need to take action immediately.

Break off all contact with the suspected scammer. Don’t send any money and don’t click on any links or ring any phone numbers they have sent you.

Contact your bank or credit card provider now and tell them to stop any transactions. Even if you’re not sure if you’re being scammed, stop sending money. Scammers will keep asking for more money until you stop.

If you’ve lost money to a scam, look out for new scams – especially someone offering to help you get your money back.

Next contact IDCARE, a not-for-profit charity formed to support individuals confronting identity and cyber security concerns. IDCARE was founded by David Lacey, a former executive director of the Australian Crime Commission, now its managing director. 

Kathy Sundstrom, IDCARE National Manager Outreach and Engagement, said: “we protect people who may have been scammed and help them protect themselves going forward.

“For example, perhaps you answered the phone thinking the call was from your bank or other genuine business and you disclosed vital personal information, such as your driving licence, credit card or bank account number.

“We team you with an expert identity and cyber security case manager, who will help you draw up a response plan depending on what information has been compromised.”

IDCARE maintains a library of more than 1,000 response plans that provide clients with a one-stop-shop on how to respond to their event. 

They regularly help people in a range of situations – from those concerned after visiting a suspicious website or divulging information to a scammer over the phone, to people who have been caught up in a data breach, and even individuals who have had their wallet stolen or house broken into.

IDCARE does not charge individuals for its support services.

Once you have secured your position, you can help Scamwatch stop the scam and to warn others by reporting the scam www.scam watch.gov.au/report-a-scam, even if you are not affected by it. You can also warn people around you.

You can also make an official report to the police on line – repor tapp.cyber.gov.au/#/ and if you’re not happy with how your bank’s response, complain to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority www.afca.org.au/.

Finding out you’ve been scammed can be nothing short of devastating. Scam victims tell of the emotional toll the experience has taken on them and their families.

If a scam has caused you debt problems, visit ndh.org.au to talk to a financial counsellor. This is a free and confidential service to help you get your finances back on track.

If you need someone to talk to, reach out to family and friends or contact Lifeline www.lifeline.org.au/ or Beyond Blue www.beyondblue.org.au to speak to someone online or over the phone.

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Frank Smith was trained as an agricultural scientist in the UK, moving to WA in 1974 and shortly afterwards began lecturing at WAIT (now Curtin University) in soils and agronomy. In 1979 he joined the Agriculture Protection Board in charge of publications and media relations, studying part time for a degree in Journalism. In 1992 he spent a year as a visiting professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Later he ran a small publication company with his wife Mary-Helen. He then began freelance writing, editing and book indexing. He has written articles for more than 40 magazines in four continents and indexed more than 20 books. In 2007 he started writing for Have a Go News and gradually reduced his writing for other publications. He later took over the subediting, ensuring Have a Go News is consistent in style and highly readable. He and Mary-Helen live in a passive solar home in the Perth Hills with a varying collection of quendas and native birds.