Peta Murphy MP

Federal Member for Dunkley

Australians are losing around $4bn a year ($11 million every day) to scammers. One more scam is one too many.

Federal Member for Dunkley, Peta Murphy MP hosted a Dunkley Scams Protection Forum on Thursday 16 March at Village Baxter. Ms Murphy was joined by the Hon Stephen Jones MP, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services.

The forum provided information on what common scams look like, how you can protect yourself, what to do if you have unfortunately been scammed and what the government is doing to protect the community.

The forum was well attended by residents of Village Baxter as well as locals from Frankston, Langwarrin, Seaford, and Skye.

“Anyone can be victim of a scam. As a community it’s so important that we increase our confidence, skills, and online safety. That’s what this forum was all about.” Ms Murphy said.

Protecting consumers is a top priority for the Federal Government, with a new National Anti-Scams Centre, tougher codes, and a dedicated minister to deal with these issues, announced through the Fighting Online Scams measure in the October 2022–23 Budget.

If you have been scammed, there are steps you should take including immediately contacting your financial institution, reporting the scam to Scamwatch, notifying police, and calling IDCARE on 1800 595 160 if you have released personal identifying information to a scammer.

“We know scams exist so it’s important we are on the lookout for them.

If you couldn’t make it to the forum but would like some information on how to protect yourself or additional details about the Government’s policy, please reach out to me and my office” Ms Murphy said.

THURSDAY, 30 MARCH 2023

MEDIA CONTACT:

Madison Child 9781 2333