Deb Jennings had her identity stolen after clicking on a fake myGov text message. (Source: 7News)
An Aussie retiree had her identity stolen and was nearly fleeced out of her Centrelink age pension payments after clicking a single text message link. Half a million Australians are being scammed every year, with many having their identities stolen.
Deb Jennings lost her identity after receiving a fake myGov text message. The scam message claimed she needed to complete “security identity verification” within just four hours, or her account would be “permanently locked”.
“Unfortunately, I clicked on it and I must have given them a little bit more information. It was probably my driving licence as well as my phone number that allowed them to pinch my ID,” she told 7News.
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Jennings fell for the scam text message in July 2024, but it wasn’t until three months later that she became aware her identity had been stolen.
She was called by a Centrelink worker who believed she wanted her pension paid into a new Westpac account.
She later discovered that scammers had applied for seven bank accounts in her name, along with trying to redirect her pension payments.
“It was quite frightening actually, because I thought I’ve done nothing wrong except click on this darn link. It caused me weeks and weeks of frustration,” Jennings said.
Jennings was luckily able to stop the scammers before they gained access to her cash, getting help through the non-profit identity theft and cyber support organisation ID-CARE.
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The federal government has announced it will provide a $15 million funding boost to ensure IDCARE continues operating for the next three years.
In 2024, reported financial losses to IDCARE surged to $513.6 million, with the number of individual reports rising from 30,530 to 42,193.
Services Australia has advised it will never send you a link in a text message or email.
“Never click on links, web forms or scan QR codes within an email or text message,” Services Australia said.
“myGov will only send you a text message to let you know you’ve got a new myGov Inbox message.
“We encourage you to be wary of unexpected contact. Only sign in to your myGov account by searching my.gov.au in your trusted web browser or by using the official myGov app.”