Intel.

Tax time is a chance to pocket a tax refund. However, it’s also a favourite time of year for scammers and cyber-crooks. We explain the top three scams to avoid to keep your money safe as we approach June 30.

If you’re considering selling an old lounge, double bed, or pushbike online, you could the target of cybercriminals.

Many Australians continue to use inadequate passwords that hackers can easily guess.

Scammers are using dating apps and social media to rob those who are just trying to meet that special someone.

As Australians become more scam conscious, the scammers are going to greater lengths such as ingeniously impersonating a customer’s bank or telco to pinch their hard-earned cash.

Optus is offering millions of customers compromised by the recent hack a 12-month subscription to a credit monitoring and identity protection service that can help reduce the risk of identity theft. For the rest of us, we can also regularly access our credit score and report for free, a strategy that will go some way towards keeping the scammers at bay.

We are conscious of a cyber-incident that has resulted in the release of personal information of some Optus customers.

Phishing scams are attempts by cybercriminals to trick you into handing over your bank account numbers, passwords and credit card details. These cyber-attacks come in many guises, including smishing, search engine rip-offs, toll road attacks, Netflix heists and social media Angling scams.

When it comes to phishing scams, Netflix is one of the most impersonated brands. But you can avoid being in your own financial horror flick with some common-sense strategies for keeping the bad actors at bay.