The St Vincent de Paul Society is warning Australians to watch for sophisticated scams that use artificial intelligence to impersonate trusted organisations and target people experiencing hardship.
The warning comes as Australia marks Scams Awareness Week, August 24–28.
St Vincent de Paul Society National President Mark Gaetani said advances in AI were making scams more convincing, including through fake websites, emails, messages and phone calls that closely imitate legitimate organisations.
“Scams are becoming more prevalent and more complex,” Mr Gaetani said.
“AI now gives criminals the ability to replicate authentic websites, branding and communications with alarming accuracy. This makes it harder for people to distinguish a genuine service from a fraudulent one.
Mr Gaetani said people already experiencing hardship could be particularly vulnerable, including those looking for financial assistance, housing support or help paying essential bills.
“Exploiting someone’s trust at a time of hardship is unconscionable,” he said.
Mr Gaetani said the society’s hard-earned reputation was being misused by cybercriminals attempting to gain access to personal, financial and government information.
“Every scam carried out in our name risks causing harm to individuals and undermining confidence in services people rely on,” he said.
“It also redirects the society’s resources from our important mission as our teams work to identify, respond to and counter fraudulent activity. We must remain ever vigilant and the public’s awareness is an essential part of preventing harm.”
Mr Gaetani reminded Australians that the St Vincent de Paul Society does not request bank account or Centrelink details online or over the phone and does not offer low-interest loans.
He said the society will not pressure anyone to provide personal information, make an urgent payment or click on an unsolicited link.
“If you receive a message, call, email or see a digital advertisement claiming to be from the St Vincent de Paul Society and something does not feel right, stop and check before responding,” Mr Gaetani said.
“Do not provide personal or financial information. Contact the society through our official channels to verify the communication and report suspected scams using our name to us directly on 13 18 12.”.
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Society warns of increasingly sophisticated scams (St Vincent de Paul Society)
