You’ve Been Scammed Online: What to Do in the First Hour
Paid a scammer or let one onto your computer? Here is what to do in the first hour, from calling your bank to securing your accounts and reporting it.
If you have just realised you have been scammed, take a breath first. Scammers are professionals, and they are built to rush you. They catch careful people every day, and there is no shame in it. What helps most now is acting quickly and in the right order.
This guide covers scams where you paid money or let someone onto your computer or phone. For fake emails and texts that ask for your sign-in details, see our guide to spotting phishing scams.
Step 1: Stop all contact and stop paying
Stop sending money, and do not send anything else. Hang up, stop replying, and do not give the scammer one more chance to talk you into a final payment. Scammers will keep asking until you stop.
Do not call back any number they gave you. Be especially wary of anyone offering to get your money back for a fee, because that is usually a second scam.
Step 2: Call your bank straight away
This is the most urgent step. Phone your bank using the number on the back of your card or in your banking app, not a number from a message. Tell them you have been scammed, and ask them to stop or recall the payment and to secure or replace your cards and accounts.
If you can, lock your card in your banking app straight away. If you share the account with someone, they should call the bank too.
If you paid another way, contact whoever handled the payment. For a gift card, that is the card’s issuer. For a money transfer app or crypto, it is the app or platform you used. For cash sent by post, it is the courier or Australia Post.
Step 3: If they had access to your computer or phone
In a remote access scam, a caller or a pop-up message talks you into installing a program such as AnyDesk, TeamViewer or Zoho Assist. It lets the scammer see and control your screen, and from there they can reach your banking, your email and your files.
First, disconnect the device from the internet by turning off Wi-Fi or unplugging the cable. That cuts the scammer off. Then, using a different device that the scammer has never touched, change your passwords. Start with your email, because it can be used to reset your other accounts, then your banking, then everything else. Turn on two-step verification wherever you can.
Next, contact any other service where your details could be misused, such as the ATO or Services Australia.
Finally, have the device checked before you use it again. Scammers can leave software behind, so uninstalling the remote program is often not enough. After a serious session, the safest answer is often to save your important files and reset the device. We can do this for you.
Step 4: If you shared personal details
If you gave out your licence, passport, Medicare or tax file number, call IDCARE on 1800 595 160. It is a free national service that helps people recover from scams and identity theft, and it will give you a plan to suit your situation.
Tell your bank and your super fund. You can also ask the credit reporting bodies to place a temporary ban on your credit file, which blocks fraudulent credit applications. Keep an eye on your bank accounts and on any unexpected calls or messages.
Step 5: Report it
Report the scam to Scamwatch. It uses reports to warn others and to disrupt scams. If you lost money, shared personal information or someone got into your accounts or device, also make a police report through ReportCyber, the government’s cybercrime reporting tool.
Reporting will not always get your money back, but it helps stop the scam and may help you later. Keep a record as you go: screenshots, phone numbers, account details, amounts and times.
If you want to talk it through, the Australian Cyber Security Hotline on 1300 292 371 is open at all hours. It cannot fix your device or recover your money, but it can point you to the right help.
Step 6: Watch for the follow-up
Scammers often come back, and about one in three victims is scammed more than once. Expect calls and messages offering to recover your money, or from people claiming to be police or your bank.
Hang up, and call your bank back on a number you have found yourself.
Look after yourself
Being scammed is stressful, and many people feel embarrassed. Talk to someone you trust. If you need someone to talk to, Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue is on 1300 22 4636.
If it happened at work
If a work computer or work account was involved, tell whoever looks after your IT straight away, and change your work passwords from a different device. If a Microsoft 365 or email account may have been taken over, follow our guide to what to do if your Microsoft 365 or email account is compromised.
IDCARE also has a free line for small businesses on 1800 595 170. Make it easy for your staff to say, “I think I clicked something.” People who are afraid of getting into trouble wait, and waiting costs money.
How to spot this one next time
Government agencies and reputable companies do not phone you out of the blue to ask for access to your computer or to move money. Never install software because someone on the phone tells you to. A pop-up with a phone number on it is not from Apple or Microsoft, and our guide to fake virus warnings on a Mac explains why.
Never read out passwords or one-time codes. If you are unsure, hang up and ring the organisation back on a number you found yourself.
Need a hand?
We cannot get your money back, but we can check your computer or phone, change your passwords, tidy up your accounts and put better protection in place. If you think someone still has access right now, call us on 1800 738 031.
See our Online Safety & Protection service for home users, our Security & Email Protection service for businesses, or contact Your Mac Tech.
