Aussies warned over new Centrelink scam claiming 'bonus' cash payment

Scammers are trying to steal people's personal information and lure them in with fake cost-of-living relief.

A new scam is targeting Aussies, falsely claiming they are entitled to a “bonus” cash payment from Centrelink.

Services Australia has warned people to be wary of any cost-of-living relief scams being shared on unofficial websites and social media accounts.

Scammers are trying to get people to click on their website and read about a new “one-off payment”, “cash relief payment” or “bonus payment”.

But the government body has confirmed there is no such payment.

“They’re targeting our customers by falsely saying there’s an extra payment coming to help ease the cost-of-living pressures. There is no bonus payment,” Services Australia said.

“If you visit one of these websites or click on their links on social media, you’re at risk of being scammed. Don’t trust unofficial websites or social media accounts for advice about Centrelink payments.”

Services Australia is encouraging recipients to only visit the official Services Australia website, ending in .gov.au, for information about payments and services. You can also call them to check whether information is legitimate.

This scam comes after Services Australia previously warned about a scam targeting older Aussies by falsely claiming an “extra payment” was coming for people on the age pension.

The scams can offer varying amounts of money, including $750 and $1,800.

Services Australia has also warned about multiple Services Australia scams currently circulating, including ones pretending to be from Centrelink, myGov and Medicare.

Other Centrelink scams involve fraudsters impersonating Services Australia and calling people to claim they need to urgently pay a debt. They claim you will be arrested if you don’t pay straight away via bank transfer, gift cards or cryptocurrency. Aussies have been told to hang up.

Aussies have lost more than $134 million to scams this year, according to Scamwatch data.

Investment scams are the top scams by loss, followed by romance and phishing scams.

It follows a recent report that revealed scammers were accessing Aussies’ Centrelink, Australian Taxation Office and Medicare accounts by creating fake myGov accounts.

This is being done through a process called “unauthorised linking” where a genuine myGov account is linked with a fake myGov account created by a scammer, without the person’s knowledge.