25 August 2025

This Scams Awareness Week, find out how to stay safe and report your scam experiences

Scams Awareness Week 2025 – running from Monday 25 until Friday 29 August – is an annual campaign to highlight the importance of protecting your personal information.

For this year’s theme of ‘Stop. Check. Protect.’, everyone is encouraged to remember these three simple steps to stay safe.

• Stop. Don’t give money or your information to anyone if you’re unsure.
• Check. Ask yourself if the message or call is fake.
• Protect. Act quickly if something feels wrong.

People can feel embarrassed or foolish to have been the target of a scam, but by sharing your stories and hearing other people’s stories, you can help yourself and others realise there is nothing to be ashamed of and learn how to better avoid, report and recover from scams.

If you’d like, you can use the hashtag #ShareAScamStory to share your stories on social media.

How to report scams

With all the different digital and social media services you might use, it can be tricky to know how to report a scam. Helpfully, the recently released Australian Online Scams Code covers how to report scams for many popular platforms including those below.

You find out more, or how to report scams for other services, by visiting the Digital Industry Group Inc. (DIGI) Scams webpage.

Where you can get help

• If you have provided any money or think a scammer has your bank account details, contact your bank immediately.
• If it’s an emergency or you are concerned for your safety, contact the police immediately by calling 000.
• To report a crime that is not an emergency, phone 131 444.
• If you see something suspicious that you suspect is a scam, report it immediately to Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) and ScamWatch.
• IDCARE can assist you if you experience scams and fraudulent activity related to identity theft. They can be contacted on 1800 595 160.
• You can also contact Deakin’s cybersecurity team.
• Being scammed is a horrible experience, and it can happen to anyone. If you need someone to talk to, reach out to family and friends, or contact Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636).

There are no consequences for reporting a potential scam – it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Want more information?

For more information on spotting a scam, visit the cyber security blog.

Stay up to date with the latest known online scams by bookmarking and regularly visiting Deakin’s Online safety and security webpage. You can also subscribe to Scamwatch radar alerts.

The ACCC’s Little Black Book of Scams is also a handy tool for recognising scams – it is available in various languages including Simplified Chinese on the ACCC website.

And please remember: don’t be embarrassed to report any suspicious activity – your experience may help prevent someone else from being scammed and stop cyber criminals in their tracks!