Tuesday, 25 August 2026

 Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Finance, Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Government Services) (12:38): Today I rise to update the house that this week is Scams Awareness Week. Scams are a growing and increasingly sophisticated threat that can target anyone regardless of their age, background or confidence using technology – beware of the blue-and-orange T-shirts on the streets. Last year alone –

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: Reset the clock. I reckon we will be resetting the clock again and again.

Enver ERDOGAN: Today I rise to update the house that this week is Scams Awareness Week. Scams are a growing and increasingly sophisticated threat that can target anyone regardless of their age, background or confidence in using technology. Last year alone Australians reported more than 480,000 scams with combined reported losses of $2.2 billion. But those figures alone cannot capture the distress and disruption experienced by every victim.

As Minister for Government Services, I know Victorians rely on digital services to interact with government. These services make it easier to access information and support, but the convenience must be matched by services that are safe, secure and trusted. Scammers seek to exploit that trust. They impersonate government departments and services through text messages, emails, websites and phone calls, and artificial intelligence and other technologies have meant that scams are more convincing. The traditional warning signs are becoming harder to spot for all. That is why the message of this week’s Scams Awareness Week is simple: stop, check, protect. Stop before clicking a link and providing personal information, check that the person or organisation contacting you is genuine and protect yourself by acting quickly if something does not feel right.

The Victorian government is helping people put that advice into practice through Service Victoria’s Scam Safe Check. This simple online tool helps Victorians assess whether a text message, email, social media post, website or phone call may be suspicious and explains what they should do next. Government has an important role to play in all this, but all of us have an important role to educate the public. I encourage every Victorian to pause when something does not look right, use the Scam Safe Check and report scams when they encounter them. As more government services move online, we will continue working to make them easier to access while ensuring Victorians can use them with confidence and trust.