The Department of Human Services (DHS) has announced a three-year extension of its partnership with IDCARE to help support victims of scams and identity theft.
General Manager at DHS, Hank Jongen said IDCARE was a not-for-profit organisation that offered specialist support for people who had fallen victim to scams or identity theft.
“Last year we took over 8,900 calls on our Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk from customers at risk of scams or identity theft,” Mr Jongen said.
“Of those calls, we referred over 2,000 customers to IDCARE.”
Mr Jongen said that when someone is referred to IDCARE they are assigned a case manager who is a specialist identity and cyber security counsellor.
“The case manager will help people explore what happened, identify the risks, and what action they need to take,” he said.
“It can be quite daunting if you’ve been scammed or had your identity stolen.”
Mr Jongen said IDCARE’s service was about sharing knowledge and building a person’s confidence and resilience.
He said IDCARE staff also gathered information and intelligence reports on cyber-criminal activities that could impact on the department.
“We work closely with IDCARE to get intelligence on suspicious activities so our staff and customers can stay ahead of scammers,” he said.
“The Department proactively educates the Australian community on scam activity to prevent or reduce the impact of scams.”
Mr Jongen said anyone who thought they may have fallen victim to a Departmental scam could call the DHS Scams and Identity Theft helpdesk on 1800 941 126 or email the Department at [email protected].
