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Opal card text warning: ‘Avoid extra fines’

Opal card users in NSW have been warned about a new scam text.

Eliza Bavin
·Personal Finance Editor
·2-min read
A composite image of a Sydney train pulling into a station and a copy of teh scam Opal text and email.
Aussies commuters have been told to be on the lookout for these Opal card scams. (Source: Getty / Transport for NSW)

Commuters in New South Wales have been warned about a new Opal card text scam, which aims to steal their personal information.

Transport for NSW alerted commuters about a couple of new scams, one of which is an email and the other a text message.

Both scams attempt to trick the potential victim into thinking they have an overdue invoice that needs to be settled.

The text message warns the recipient that they took a trip on public transport but had insufficient funds. It then invited them to click a link to make a payment and “avoid extra fines”.

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The email takes a similar approach and uses Opal branding. It claims the user has an “overdue invoice” for $4.80 and warns that failure to make the payment will result in a $330 fine.

“Stay alert, there are multiple scam messages circulating in the community as a text message or email that could appear to come from Transport for NSW or other NSW government departments,” Transport for NSW said in a Facebook post.

“Please don't open any files or click on the links in these messages as we will never request payment this way.”

Scams on the rise

The federal government has proposed a new text message registry to crack down on scams. This registry would act as a ‘blocking list’ for scammers and stop them from impersonating government agencies and trusted brands.

The government asked the Australian Communications and Media Authority to investigate the proposal, which has been successful in stopping scammers in other countries.

These types of scams are known as “sender ID scams”, and they trick people into thinking they are receiving legitimate messages from businesses or the government, such as the ATO, myGov, Australia Post, Linkt or your bank.

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said Aussies were losing about $4 billion each year to scams.

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