Savvy to Scams

Build your defences against tax-time scam messages.

The end-of-financial year is a peak time in Australia for scam attempts.

Fake ATO texts. Strange links. Dodgy refund emails. Urgent-sounding warnings. Messages that look right enough to make you stop and wonder, “Is this real? Or is this a scam?”

In this live 1-hour workshop with Savvy to Scams in Canning Vale, you’ll learn what it really looks like to slow down, check for warning signs and make safer decisions before you click and do anything else.

This is a practical active workshop - designed for upskilling real people dealing with real messages. (It’s not a boring information session!)

You’ll learn alongside others in a supportive group, with time to chat, practise, ask questions and build confidence.

Workshop dates:

This workshop is repeated on Wednesdays at Canning Vale through June and July 2026.

Choose the date that suits you:

Wednesday 24 June
Wednesday 1 July
Wednesday 8 July

Get your ticket below, bring a pen & come ready to participate.

Early Bird Bookings: Discounted Ticket AND 30-Minute Free Support Call Post-Workshop

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1991164749366?aff=oddtdtcreator

This is for you if you:

- Don’t feel sure about knowing which texts & emails are real or fake
- Feel it’s hard handling messages with your digital skills or English
- Don’t have steps for clear thinking to check your messages
- Want to be better skilled to spot the signs of online scams
- Learn better with guidance and together with others
- Want to link to future support for your digital safety skills
- Want to learn to help those you care for with their digital resilience

In this 1-hour workshop, you’ll get:

+ The big picture of online scams in 2026 and why they’re getting harder to pick out
+ The common methods & modes scammers use around this time of the year
+ The Troublesome Trio Framework (simple & memory-friendly!) to spot likely scam messages
+ Guided practice to develop your confidence using the Troublesome Trio Framework
+ The 5 Minute Message Checker Guide to slow down & avoid a risky quick reaction
+ Your own personal Sense Checker Tool created with you
+ These practical tools & skills you can use straight away in your printed Tune-up Toolkit mini-manual
+ More hints & sources of help in your handy Tune-up Toolkit to keep on using at home anytime you get a dodgy message

This workshop is designed and guided by an expert educator who makes complex information clear and practical.

Book your place below now.

Early Bird Bookings: Discounted Ticket AND 30-Minute Free Support Call Post-Workshop
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1991164749366?aff=oddtdtcreator

Tax-time Tune-up Canning Vale Build your defences against tax-time scam messages. Join in a live workshop with Savvy to Scams.

Mid-Feb & Valentine's Day already?!!😳
A timely reminder that if your 2026 hopes included trying out the world of digital dating - be sure to do it with care!

* In 2025, Western Australians made more reports of romance scams than in 2024. Both men & women harmed. The highest financial losses? Folks aged over 65.

Romantic dating is a space where familiarity, intimacy & trust are built slowly over time, a private shared space naturally bounded from others. Typically, we 'figure it out as we go'.
And - unlike other things we do learn over time, fair online dating conduct is not often the kind of skillset that folks learn when younger in life by watching it modelled by their parents/caregivers. (For lots of reasons!!! 🤢🤦‍♀️)

So the natural privacy of online dating makes a really fertile setting for online scammers as a go-to, to steal money. And for the reasons above, it's understandable that where there's high privacy, positive emotions, hopes, trust & little previous guidance, scammers can break open bank accounts and hearts.
SO please be careful today and in the weeks & months to come.
If in doubt about what's happening in an online relationship - talk it over with someone you trust. Have courage to open up a conversation.

AND - please share this with anyone you know who is/may be exploring online dating in 2026.

Happy Valentines Day!

* https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook%20Labor%20Government/Tainted-love:-romance-scam-victims-climb-in-2025--20260214

An eye-opening end to the week!
Savvy friend, have a read of this ABC News article out today for some of the how & why global scammers target Australians.

We can be thankful for the quick actions of our authorities to warn these 300 Australians of their heightened risk. Great work, those cooperating in Operation Firestorm & the NASC!

But 300 ID profiles found at one scam compound - that's just 'a drop in the bucket' of Australians' personal information that is being held by cybercriminals globally.

Don't be alarmed, but be savvy! This is a timely reminder.

Why not put aside some time early in 2026 - this weekend?! - to review your digital safety habits to keep your ID and money safer?

Take 30 minutes, make a cup of your favourite brew & take a small first step - update some passwords on your 3 most important online accounts. Also set up multi-factor authentication (MFA, also called 2FA '2-factor authentication') on those, if you don't already have it. Could you fit in doing 3 account password updates EACH weekend?

Don't let feeling unsure or alone in this keep you from action. Ask for help from someone you trust.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-13/australians-targeted-by-cambodian-scam-compound/106335866

One key take-away for one participant in yesterday's Zoom Webinar: 'Life Hacks for Safer Online Shopping' - see #3 below. ✅
Be Savvy in your Black Friday/Cyber Monday shop.
For more advice, easy tips & training, contact us. 😃

Website Wary hacks to share, anyone else?

Put on your Savvy hat, friends! Black Friday shopping is upon us.

In Jan-Sept 2025, Australians lost nearly $260 million to scams (that's only the known, reported scams!).
This year, just under 50% of money lost to all scams in Australia started out with some kind of online contact.

So - your Black Friday online shopping can be a goldmine for scammers.
Get ahead of them with simple steps. For yourself or your family members.
Safety. Sense. Support.
Visit our website for personal help & group training. Sign up for email news. Join our Safer Together private Facebook Group.

Announcing... Savvy to Scams is here! 🥳🙌👩‍💼

Here to train, advise & alert people in Australia to spot & avoid online financial scams.

In plain English and brain-friendly design for lasting learning, our training shifts the information overload about personal online security into understanding & simple actionable steps.
Unpack the unknown, create more secure online habits & develop confidence online with supportive guidance from our training & community.

Join with us for you or those you care about to get Savvy to Scams.

📣 Website & Learning Hub updates
📣 Savvy Solo Guidance - Single Sessions & Series
📣 Savvy Tailored Training - for staff, carers & communities
📣 Savvy to Scams Safer Together Private Facebook Group
📣 Savvy to Scams Workshops - online & in-person

Chat today about how we can help you.