Australia’s Department of Home Affairs has sounded the alarm on a sophisticated phone-and-email scam in which fraudsters impersonate senior immigration officials and demand ‘expedite’ payments from visa applicants. The official alert, published at 11:42 am AEDT on 4 December 2025, stresses that genuine officers will never request additional fees outside the ImmiAccount portal.
Modus operandi – Victims report receiving calls from spoofed Canberra switchboard numbers and professionally worded emails bearing the department crest. Scammers cite real application references harvested from social-media groups and ask for sums ranging from A$1,500 to A$7,000, payable via cryptocurrency or third-party remittance services. Once funds are transferred, contact ceases and the applicant’s personal documents are exposed to identity-theft risks.
![Home Affairs issues urgent warning over visa-application scam targeting migrants]()
Scale of the threat – Migration-agent associations say at least 200 clients have come forward in the past fortnight, with a “sharp uptick” among Subclass 500 (student) and Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) applicants in South-East Asia. The Australian Federal Police’s dedicated cyber-crime unit has opened an investigation.
Business impact – Corporate HR teams managing assignee cases could face costly delays if staff unknowingly submit forged receipts or altered grant notices. Employers are urged to conduct independent VEVO checks and remind applicants that all legitimate payment requests are processed through the government’s secure online platform.
Advice – Home Affairs recommends hanging up on unsolicited calls, verifying any email through the official contact centre and reporting incidents to Scamwatch. Individuals who may have divulged passport details are encouraged to lodge a Document Fraud Report and monitor credit files for unusual activity.
Modus operandi – Victims report receiving calls from spoofed Canberra switchboard numbers and professionally worded emails bearing the department crest. Scammers cite real application references harvested from social-media groups and ask for sums ranging from A$1,500 to A$7,000, payable via cryptocurrency or third-party remittance services. Once funds are transferred, contact ceases and the applicant’s personal documents are exposed to identity-theft risks.
Scale of the threat – Migration-agent associations say at least 200 clients have come forward in the past fortnight, with a “sharp uptick” among Subclass 500 (student) and Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) applicants in South-East Asia. The Australian Federal Police’s dedicated cyber-crime unit has opened an investigation.
Business impact – Corporate HR teams managing assignee cases could face costly delays if staff unknowingly submit forged receipts or altered grant notices. Employers are urged to conduct independent VEVO checks and remind applicants that all legitimate payment requests are processed through the government’s secure online platform.
Advice – Home Affairs recommends hanging up on unsolicited calls, verifying any email through the official contact centre and reporting incidents to Scamwatch. Individuals who may have divulged passport details are encouraged to lodge a Document Fraud Report and monitor credit files for unusual activity.
