How to avoid money transfer scams
The patterns scammers use, and the four rules that stop almost all of them.
3 minute read · Last updated 5 October 2026
The four rules
One: no genuine prize, refund, job or visa ever requires you to pay a fee, a tax or a "release charge" first. Two: no bank, no government office and no provider will ever ask for your PIN, your online banking password or a one-time code.
Three: nobody legitimate creates urgency. "Pay in the next hour or it is gone" is pressure, not service. Four: verify through a channel you chose. Hang up and call the number on the official website, or walk into the branch.
The common patterns
The fake buyer: a "customer" overpays, asks you to send the difference back, then reverses the original payment. The fake official: a text pretending to be from your bank, the tax office or a courier, carrying a link. The fake love or job offer: weeks of friendly messages, then a request for money, gift cards or crypto.
Gift cards are the loudest tell. No real organisation takes payment in gift cards. If you are asked for one, stop and tell someone.
If it happens
Contact your bank immediately — the faster you call, the better the chance of a hold. Report it to Scamwatch and, if a government service was impersonated, to that office directly.
You are not foolish for being targeted; these messages are built to work. The people who lose the least are the ones who slow down and check.
The one thing to take away
If you are asked to pay to receive, to move fast, or to share a code, it is a scam.
Official sources
Always check the official source. Rates, fees and rules change.