- Scam Alert
- ACCC
- Malware
- Social Media Scam
- Consumer Safety
ACCC issued a national alert after Australians lost an average of $5,000 to fake tai chi class ads installing malware that drained bank accounts within minutes.
ACCC Issues National Alert Over Fake Tai Chi Class Scam
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a nationwide scam alert after dozens of Australians reported losing thousands of dollars to a fraudulent campaign offering free tai chi classes. Reporting from ABC News indicates that Scamwatch has recorded an uptick in cases tied to this tactic, with average losses sitting at around $5,000 per victim, well above the typical figure for similar scams.
The campaign uses sponsored social media posts to lure people into community-style groups, then funnels them toward malware disguised as a class registration app. Once installed, the malware grants scammers remote access to the device and the financial accounts linked to it.
How the Reports Describe the Scam
According to the ACCC, contributors to the reports describe a consistent sequence. A sponsored Facebook post advertises a free local tai chi group, and after the person engages, a follow-up phone call or message arrives from someone claiming to coordinate the sessions. The caller directs the target to download an application from a website to view the class timetable or register.
Adelaide pensioner Heather Janine told ABC News she was contacted by a woman identifying herself as Ivy Lunar after responding to a sponsored post for a group called Aussie Tai Chi Community. Janine said she was pressured into installing the app, and within 15 minutes more than $5,000 had been removed from her bank accounts. She described the device as having been effectively cloned, giving the operators access to her banking credentials.
Detective Superintendent Matt Craft, Commander of the NSW Police Cyber Crime Squad, told the ABC the malware exposes victims to loss of personal identification, date of birth and banking access in a single step. He noted the same playbook has been observed with other interest-based hooks, including dancing, walking and hiking groups.
Pattern and Context Across Australia
National Anti-Scam Centre general manager Jayde Richmond said the strategy deliberately targets activities that older Australians are likely to seek out, which helps explain why losses run higher than the broader scam average. Richmond noted that once remote access is established, the damage compounds quickly because the operators can move funds before the victim recognises anything is wrong.
The tactic fits a broader pattern reported across Australian community signal in recent months, where scam operators move from voice-only impersonation toward hybrid approaches that combine paid social advertising, a human caller, and a malicious download. Craft told the ABC the topic of the lure is interchangeable, which suggests the same infrastructure is being recycled across different interest groups. For reverse phone lookup purposes, this means a single unfamiliar number may surface in community reports under several unrelated cover stories.
What Australians Should Do
- Treat any inbound call or SMS that follows engagement with a free class advertisement as suspicious, particularly when the caller asks you to install an app from a link rather than an official app store.
- Do not download applications sent through SMS, messaging apps or websites supplied by an unknown caller, even when the sender references a group you recently joined on social media.
- If an app has already been installed, disconnect the device from the internet, contact your bank immediately to freeze accounts, and run a factory reset before signing back into financial services.
- Verify community classes through the venue, council or instructor directly using contact details found independently, not the number provided in the advertisement.
- Discuss the scam pattern with older family members, since Scamwatch has identified this demographic as a primary target.
How to Report and Check Numbers
Suspicious calls and messages tied to fake class advertisements should be reported to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au, which feeds into the National Anti-Scam Centre data used by the ACCC. Scam SMS can also be forwarded to 0429 999 888 so the message and originating number can be assessed for blocking action by telcos and the ACMA. Identity compromise or unauthorised account access should be reported to ReportCyber and to Services Australia if myGov credentials may be exposed.
Before returning a missed call from an unfamiliar Australian number, contributors can check Reverseau community reports to see whether the number has already been flagged in connection with class registration lures, app download requests or impersonation calls. Adding a fresh report after an incident strengthens the signal available to the next person who receives the same call.