Immigration fraud is not very uncommon in Australia. It affects the communities in different ways.
Australian government is concerned by recent scam phone calls, claiming to be from the Department of Home Affairs (the Department), with the caller requesting money to progress visa applications.
Sometimes the caller pretends as an employee of the Department and introduces themselves using a first name. The phone number might look to be a genuine official number. However, the Department will never request money over phone.
If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from the Department who requests money, report it to the following link: .
A scam is an attempt to intentionally mislead people to steal money, property, or personal information, or to dishonestly obtain something else of value.
Scams can occur in many forms–by post, email, telephone or on the internet. Some scams are easy to identify, while others might appear to be the real thing.
To protect yourself from migration fraud and scams you need to be very careful. Sometimes the criminals will use the Department’s name to make their story appear legitimate.
It is your responsibility to be vigilant and careful to avoid scams.
In order to protect yourself from visa scams, you should only deal with official Australian Government channels such as the departmental website, reputable travel agents, Australian Visa Application Centres, or the .
