The Department of Social Services (DSS) has recently received reports that members of the public have been contacted via phone and social media, by an individual or individuals offering government grant funding. Some members of the public have reported the individuals claimed they were from the ‘Department of Social Services’, ‘Australian Grants Commission’ or the ‘Australian Government Grant Department’. Instructions were provided
to a member of the public on how to access their grant funding, which included paying a fee. These claims are false and these individuals do not represent DSS or the Commonwealth. DSS officers do not: It is a serious matter to impersonate a Commonwealth public official. It may
even be a criminal offence carrying a penalty of imprisonment in some circumstances. If approached in this manner, do not give any personal information. If you are uncomfortable with the nature of the call or approach, simply hang up. We encourage you to report incidents of this nature. You can visit Scamwatch on www.scamwatch.gov.au to report to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). If you have already provided information to a caller or are concerned that a crime has or may be committed, please immediately contact the police, your bank or the ACCC. Last updated: 25 May 2022 - 11:09am
No legitimate federal government employee would ever call you and tell you that you qualify or have been approved for a grant for which you never applied. Protect yourself from scammers that tell you that you need to pay a small processing fee to qualify to
receive a grant for education costs, home repairs, home business expenses, or "money for nothing" grant offers. How they try to trick youWhether you see them in your local paper or a national magazine, or receive direct phone calls—con artists generally follow a familiar script to gain access to your bank accounts or to get you to make unnecessary one-time payments to them. Look and listen for these tell-tale lines:
People who run scams often claim to provide help and sometimes claim to be "federal government" officials—don’t be fooled by these scams that request money from you. It is illegal to ask you to pay to apply for or to increase your odds of being awarded a federal grant. Be careful to watch for scammers that falsely use HHS symbols and language to trick you and others. Fraudsters in the past have used the words and letters of HHS programs to give the false impression that their costly seminars or pay-per-use grant application tools are approved, endorsed, or authorized by HHS. HHS never endorses or uses private companies or individuals for these purposes. Phone numbers can deceive. Some con artists use Internet technology to disguise their area code in caller ID systems. Although it may look like they’re calling from Washington, DC, they could be calling from anywhere in the world. You can't rely on caller ID because scammers know how to rig it to show you the wrong information (aka "spoofing"). Scammers might have personal information about you before they call, so don't take that as a sign they're the real thing. If you're not sure whether you're dealing with the government, look up the official number of the agency. Quick Facts about the Government Grant Process
If you think that someone has fraudulently represented Grants.gov or HHS, contact the HHS Fraud Hotline at 1-800-447-8477 and email . Things You Should Do to Protect Yourself from ScammersThe FTC says following a few basic rules can keep you from losing money to these "government grant" scams:
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