Anglicare has issued a warning about scammers preying on vulnerable people through fake websites and scam social media pages.

Increased cost-of-living pressures and the rise of artificial intelligence has led to a greater level of online scam activity, and a range of trusted charities – including Anglicare – are being targeted.

“Anglicare Sydney serves the most vulnerable people in our communities, and it is incredibly disheartening and disturbing to see these pages targeting those who can least afford to be scammed,” said Anglicare Sydney’s CEO, Simon Miller.

Mr Miller’s warning came after two attempts late last year to impersonate Anglicare and other charities online by offering “interest-free loans” to Australians struggling with the rising cost of living.

On Facebook, scammers used a fake version of the tree logo used by Anglicare Sydney with the bogus name “Anglisure Credit” and the slogan “building brighter futures, one loan at a time”. The Salvation Army was also targeted, and there was an additional page masquerading as an Anglicare agency outside Sydney – offering people free fridges in order to steal their details. 

Many of the scams operate by direct messaging on social media.

“Our focus is twofold: on quick reporting and removal of scam pages, and helping our clients be scam aware,” Mr Miller said.

“Fast detection and reporting of scam pages is key, and we work with Meta to have pages taken down as soon as possible. In addition to the Meta verification [known as the ‘blue check’, or ‘blue tick’], we’ve found best success by using Meta’s Brand Rights Protection portal to have pages that use our trademark taken down, reducing removal time from days to hours.”

Anglicare has also established pages on Facebook and on its website with information on scam detection. 

“In addition to a range of tips on ‘How to spot a scam’, we say Anglicare Sydney will never ask for your myGov, banking or any other passwords,” the CEO said. “We will never assess you for help over social media.

“Sadly, wherever there are opportunities for financial gain, scammers will proliferate. We want to see tech giants like Meta, and others [dealing with] cyber crime, increase investment in scam prevention to better protect the community.”

See Anglicare Sydney’s official Facebook page and website for more information.