At Community CPS we take all instances of fraud very seriously. We have a range of security measures in place to protect our members from fraud or identity theft, such as Secure SMS, but people need to educate themselves also to ensure they don’t fall victim to online fraud and scams at home.

Thousands of Australians fall victim to online fraud every year. It is estimated that one in 20 Australians will be caught by some kind of scam. It is also estimated that around two-thirds of consumer fraud now occurs online.

Online scams come in many different forms. Common online scams are phishing and spam emails, where emails claiming to be from a financial institution are sent to you, which will ask you to verify your account details and then the scammers will use those details to fraudulently obtain your money.

Scams can also occur when shopping online: Scammers can pretend to be selling a product - often at a low cost - just so they can steal your credit card or bank account details. Similarly, they may take your money but send you a faulty or worthless product instead—or even nothing at all.

Be aware of guarding your personal information – never provide your personal banking information if someone requests it and don’t respond to requests for money. Never give out your PIN, CARD number or password to anyone. Check all your debit and credit card statements thoroughly and destroy old bills and expired cards.

Do your homework: research the company you are buying from, their returns policy and contact details. Never enter your personal, credit card or online account information on a website that you are not certain is genuine.

Remember, we will NEVER ask you for your account details in an email or message. If you receive an email that you think is a scam, report it to SCAMwatch immediately at www.scamwatch.gov.au or call 1300 795 995.