A fake AUSTRAC website has been identified. 

Scammers will often attempt to trick you into giving out your personal or business information, or to persuade you to make payments or transfer funds. To achieve this, scammers often pretend to be from trusted organisations like AUSTRAC and will seek to appear credible by using a fake website or emails with the AUSTRAC logo and branding. 

Signs of a scam

There are certain things AUSTRAC will never do. You should be suspicious of a call or email that:

• asks you to provide your business details via a website form outside of the AUSTRAC Online portal. 
• asks you to pay penalty fees by money transfer
• asks you to pay a fee or tax to authorise release of funds to your bank account
• threatens you with arrest if you don’t pay a penalty
• asks you for documentation regarding imported goods
• tells you we have intercepted your package at the border
• tells you we are freezing accounts or transactions
• says you can avoid prosecution by paying penalties.

If the phone call or email does any of these things, you can be sure it hasn’t come from us.

What to do if you receive a scam communication 

If you think a call, email or message claiming to be from us is not genuine, do not engage with the scammer. Report the incident to Scamwatch.

Do not:

• phone them back
• reply to the email
• click any links
• download any files.

Report it

• Report the incident to Scamwatch or your local police.
• For online or email scams, contact Report | Cyber.gov.au.

More information

If you have concerns about identity theft, contact IDCARE

To find out more about AUSTRAC, visit our What we do page.