Services Australia is warning people not to respond if they get a dodgy-looking email from them. The government body said there had been a noticeable uptick in scammers trying to con hard-working Aussies out of their money.

The scam of most concern at the moment is people getting emails pretending to be from Centrelink that claim you need to "urgently update" your details otherwise your payments will be stopped. But the email will contain a fake myGov website that can steal your valuable information.

"We’ve seen an increase in scammers impersonating us through email... Scammers want you to feel worried, so you’ll act quickly and click on a dodgy link," Services Australia said.

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"Don’t click a link to sign in to your myGov or Centrelink online account.

"They are links that go to a phishing website, designed to steal your personal information.

"That’s how scammers steal your money and identity."

Aussies lost close to $319 million last year to different types of scams.

The total amount of money lost was less than in 2023 and there were fewer reports from victims in 2024 compared to the year prior.

Investment, romance and phishing scams made up the highest portion of scam losses, with $192.3 million lost in this realm.

What do the emails look like?

Services Australia has shared several examples of the scam that has been fooling people recently.

The subject of the email usually includes something along the lines of 'Urgent', 'Security Alert', or 'Payment Update Notice'.

Scammers will scatter the email with keywords designed to make you act quickly like, "if you don't provide the information on time", or "we need your immediate attention".

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It will spell out the steps that they need you to complete and will usually include a link to a website.

But these phishing links won't take you to the usual my.gov.au site, but it will look very similar to it.

These scam websites will often ask for your:

• myGov username and password

• personal details, such as your name, address and date of birth

• Centrelink Customer Reference Number or Medicare card details

• banking information, such as your credit card details or BSB and account number