Be alert: Phishing scam to purchase gift cards

Scope does not use email, text messages or social media to ask for personal information, banking details or the purchase of gift cards.

If you receive a message like this, do not respond.

We encourage anyone who has received a phishing message to report your experience to the Australian Government scamwatch website.

This phishing event is not as a consequence of any breach of our IT systems.

Scope has a range of Easy Read resources available here on How to stay safe from online scams

What to do in the event of being scammed

If you have bought gift cards, paid money or given out your personal information, here are some things you can do:

• Think about what information you may have provided and write down what you remember sharing.
• If you gave any banking or other financial details such as a credit card number, contact your financial institution immediately and keep a close eye on your accounts.
• If you gave any usernames or passwords, change your passwords to a new and secure version straightaway. If you use the same password with different online services, make sure you change your password at those services too.
• If you’ve shared other personal information, such as your driver’s license number, Medicare, passport or contact details (like your mobile phone number), then you may want to visit IDCare at www.idcare.org. IDCare can help you with how to address potential identity theft.
• If you have transferred money or bought gift cards, report this to the police.
• Consider filing a report at www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/report.

The Australian government has some more information about scams and how to protect yourself on these web pages:

Scamwatch - information and resources about identifying, avoiding and reporting scams.

How to recognise and report scams – how to protect yourself and report suspicious activity.

Phishing – information about phishing scams and what to do if you have been targeted.