BEWARE of Bushfire fundraising scams

ABC Landline ℹ CALL 1300 795 995 TO REPORT BUSHFIRE SCAMS ℹ

There are currently a wide range of appeals raising funds for people and animals affected by the bushfires. Unfortunately, some of these are scams.

From today, ScamWatch will have a dedicated phone number for the public to report bushfire related scams.

Call 1300 795 995 to report these scams.

ScamWatch also has the following advice for anyone wishing to make a donation towards those affected by the bushfires:

▪️ Scammers are pretending to be legitimate well-known charities, creating their own charity names, and impersonating people negatively impacted by the bushfires.

▪️Scammers are cold-calling, direct messaging and creating fake websites and pages on social media to raise funds.

▪️ Do not donate via fundraising pages on platforms that do not verify the legitimacy of the fundraiser or that do not guarantee your money will be returned if the page is determined to be fraudulent.