How do I report a scam in Australia?
Short answer
Call your bank's fraud line first and ask for a recall — that is the only step with a real chance of recovering money, and it is time-critical. Then report to ReportCyber at cyber.gov.au for a police reference, and to Scamwatch so the National Anti-Scam Centre can act on the pattern.
Verified · 4 cited sources
The order matters more than most people realise. Scamwatch is the best-known destination and the least useful for recovery — it says plainly that it does not investigate individual reports or recover funds. Its role is aggregation: feeding pattern detection, takedown requests and public warnings.
Your bank is the only party that can attempt to move money back. Call the fraud line, not general enquiries, and ask specifically for an attempted recall or trace, a block on further payments to that payee, a review of the account if you shared credentials or gave anyone remote access, and a written complaint reference.
Recoverability depends heavily on how you paid. Card payments carry chargeback rights. Bank transfers can occasionally be recalled if funds have not moved on. PayID and Osko payments are instant and rarely recoverable. Cryptocurrency and gift cards are effectively unrecoverable.
ReportCyber, run through the Australian Cyber Security Centre, routes reports to state police and produces a reference number that banks, insurers, telcos and credit bodies frequently require before acting.
If identity documents were exposed, call IDCARE on 1800 595 160 for a free response plan and place a free credit ban with all three credit reporting bodies. If your bank refuses to help, escalate free of charge to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority on 1800 931 678.
- Bank fraud line first — recall attempts work best in the first hours
- ReportCyber for the police reference number others ask for
- Scamwatch for national disruption; it cannot recover your money
- IDCARE on 1800 595 160 if documents or identity were exposed
- AFCA on 1800 931 678 if the bank refuses to help
People also ask
Sources & provenance
Facts verified
- 1.Report a scam OfficialNational Anti-Scam Centre, ACCCUsed for: What Scamwatch does and does not do with reports
- 2.Report and recover OfficialAustralian Cyber Security CentreUsed for: ReportCyber process and referral to police
- 3.Get help OfficialIDCAREUsed for: Free identity compromise support
- 4.Make a complaint RegulatorAustralian Financial Complaints AuthorityUsed for: Free escalation where a bank refuses to assist
The role of each reporting body comes from the sources cited. The ranking of payment methods by recoverability — card best, transfers next, PayID and Osko worse, crypto and gift cards effectively unrecoverable — is our own synthesis of how each payment rail works, not a ranking published by any authority.
Facts on this page are taken from the sources listed above — Australian government departments, regulators, statutory bodies and official statistical releases. Comparisons, judgements and "which option suits whom" conclusions are AI-assisted analysis written over those sources; they are marked in the text and listed as an AI-analysis entry in the sources, not attributed to any authority. Rates, thresholds, fees and processing times change, often at the start of a financial year; figures are current as at the review date shown and should be confirmed with the responsible agency before you rely on them for money or legal decisions.