Deb Jennings had her identity stolen after clicking on a fake myGov text message. (Source: 7News) <\/p>\n
An Aussie retiree<\/a> had her identity stolen and was nearly fleeced out of her Centrelink age pension payments<\/a> after clicking a single text message link<\/a>. Half a million Australians are being scammed every year, with many having their identities stolen<\/a>.<\/p>\n Deb Jennings lost her identity<\/a> after receiving a fake myGov text message. The scam message<\/a> claimed she needed to complete \u201csecurity identity verification\u201d within just four hours, or her account would be \u201cpermanently locked\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, I clicked on it and I must have given them a little bit more information.\u00a0It was probably my driving licence as well as my phone number that allowed them to pinch my ID,\u201d she told 7News<\/a>.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/p>\n Jennings fell for the scam text message<\/a> in July 2024, but it wasn\u2019t until three months later that she became aware her identity had been stolen.<\/p>\n She was called by a Centrelink worker who believed she wanted her pension paid into a new Westpac account.<\/p>\n She later discovered that scammers<\/a> had applied for seven bank accounts in her name, along with trying to redirect her pension payments.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was quite frightening actually, because I thought I\u2019ve done nothing wrong except click on this darn link. It caused me weeks and weeks of frustration,\u201d Jennings said.<\/p>\n