Money Scams Targeting International Students in Australia

Your first few weeks in Australia are busy. You are setting up a bank account, finding a place to live, looking for casual work and learning how everything runs. Scammers target newly-arrived international students on purpose, counting on you being unsure of the rules, away from family and worried about your visa. This guide pulls the most common money scams into one place, shows the red flags that give them away, and tells you where to report them.

This is general information to help you stay safe, not financial or tax advice. Afrovo is not a licensed financial adviser, so always check official sources for your situation. For more on managing your money as a student, see our student finance hub.

Fake ATO and immigration calls

This is the scam that frightens students most, so let us be clear about how it works. You get a call, text or voicemail claiming to be from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or the Department of Home Affairs. The voice says you owe a tax debt, or that there is a problem with your visa, and that you will be arrested or deported unless you pay immediately. Then comes the giveaway: they ask you to pay using gift cards (iTunes, Google Play, Steam), cryptocurrency, or a transfer to a personal account. Here is the truth you can hold onto:

• •The real ATO will never demand payment in gift cards, vouchers or cryptocurrency.
• •The ATO will never threaten you with immediate arrest or deportation over the phone.
• •Home Affairs will not phone you out of the blue demanding money to fix your visa.

If you get a call like this, hang up and do not press any buttons. You can check whether a contact was genuine by calling the ATO on a number from ato.gov.au, never one the caller gives you.

Rental and bond scams

Finding housing in a new city is stressful, and scammers love an empty wallet in a hurry. A typical rental scam advertises a room or flat at a price that looks too good to be true. The "landlord" says they are overseas and cannot show the property, but asks for a deposit or bond up front to hold it. Once you transfer the money, the listing and the landlord both vanish.

Protect yourself:

• •Never pay a bond or deposit for a place you have not seen, in person or via a live video call.
• •In most of Australia a rental bond is lodged with a government bond authority, not paid into a private account. Be wary if a landlord wants it sent straight to them.
• •Do not pay in gift cards or crypto, ever, for rent or bond.

Compare what housing should actually cost in your city using our cost of living guide so an offer that is wildly cheap stands out as suspicious.

Fake job and overpayment scams

You need income, so a message offering easy, well-paid work feels like a gift. Job scams come in a few flavours, but share one goal: getting money or bank details out of you.

Watch for these patterns:

• •You are offered a job you never applied for, often "online assistant" or "mystery shopper" work with very high pay for little effort.
• •You are asked to pay up front for training, a uniform, a police check or "registration".
• •The "employer" sends a cheque or transfer for more than agreed, then asks you to send the extra back. This is the classic overpayment trick: the original payment later bounces, and your refund is gone.
• •You are asked to receive money into your own account and pass it on. This can make you a money mule, a serious crime even if you did not know.

A genuine Australian employer never asks you to pay to start work, and never pays you before you have done anything. To understand your real pay and workplace rights as a student worker, the Fair Work Ombudsman is the free, official source.

The red flags every scam shares

You do not need to memorise every scam. Almost all of them wave the same flags, so if you see any of these, stop and breathe before you do anything with your money:

• •Urgency and fear. "Pay in the next hour or you will be deported." Real organisations give you time and written notice.
• •Unusual payment methods. Gift cards, vouchers, cryptocurrency or a transfer to a personal account are huge warning signs. No government body asks for these.
• •A request to move money. Anyone asking you to receive funds and forward them on, or to refund an overpayment, is trying to use you.
• •Asking for your passwords. No legitimate body will ever ask for your myGov password, one-time codes or full bank login. Never share them.
• •Pressure to keep it secret. "Do not tell your bank or your family." A scammer wants to isolate you so no one talks you out of it.

Why new African students are targeted first

If you are coming from Nigeria, Kenya or Ghana, it helps to understand why the first few weeks are the riskiest:

• •You are still learning how Australian institutions, banks and visas work, so a fake "official" demand is harder to judge.
• •You may be moving large sums for tuition, bond and setup, so big transactions do not feel unusual.
• •You are far from family and friends who would normally say "that sounds off".
• •Sending or receiving money from home is normal for you, which is exactly what mule and overpayment scams exploit.

None of this is your fault, and falling for a clever scam does not make you foolish. The fix is simple awareness: knowing these tricks exist takes away most of their power. Share this with classmates who have just landed.

Sending money safely

Many students get caught moving money between Australia and home. Run this check before you trust any transfer service or "agent" offering a great rate:

• •Money-transfer providers in Australia must be registered with AUSTRAC. You can confirm a provider is registered at austrac.gov.au.
• •Be cautious of informal agents in WhatsApp groups offering rates that beat everyone else. If something goes wrong, you have no protection.
• •Never let anyone use your bank account to move money for them, even a "friend" promising a cut.

Where to report a scam

Reporting matters even if you did not lose money, because it helps protect the next student. Here is where to go:

• •Report the scam to Scamwatch, run by the National Anti-Scam Centre, at scamwatch.gov.au.
• •Report a fake ATO contact using the channels listed on ato.gov.au, or call the ATO on a number from their website to verify any tax claim.
• •Contact your bank immediately if you have sent money or shared bank details. Australian banks have fraud teams, and acting fast gives the best chance of stopping or recovering a payment.
• •If you are threatened or feel unsafe, contact the police. In an emergency, call 000.

You can also learn how money, budgeting and safe banking work in Australia through the government's free ASIC MoneySmart website.

A calm final word

The single best defence is a pause. Scammers win by rushing you, yet no government body, university or bank will ever punish you for taking an hour to verify something on a .gov.au site or to call your bank. Set up your finances properly from day one with our student finance hub, keep your passwords to yourself, and when a message tries to scare you into paying right now, treat that fear itself as the biggest red flag of all.