• Print

Bathurst Regional Council and Chifley Police District are encouraging residents to be extra vigilant after a number of COVID-19 related scams have been identified.

According to Scamwatch, scammers are pretending to be trusted government agencies and services such as myGOV, Centrelink and Department of Health sending text messages and emails that contain malicious links which will steal personal and financial information.

To protect yourself from scams, Scamwatch recommends you:

• Don’t assume you know who you are dealing with;
• Don’t share your personal, banking or credit card information with people you don’t know or trust;
• Don’t click on hyperlinks in text/social media. Go directly to the website through your browser;
• Always verify a contact by finding them in an independent source such as a phone book;
• Never provide a stranger remote access to your computer, even if they claim to be from your service provider;
• Look at reviews before purchasing online;
• Be cautious and trust your instincts;
• Always ask yourself, could this be a scam? 

For more information on current scams and how to identify them visit https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/current-covid-19-coronavirus-scams