“This is the AFP. Your identity has been used in a crime — move your savings to protect them”
The National Anti-Scam Centre warned about this script in December 2025 after a run of cases, and it's still going. It borrows the machinery of a real investigation — a case number, a ReportCyber reference, an officer's name and badge, sometimes a fake warrant emailed as a PDF — and points it at the one thing that matters: getting you to send your savings to an account or exchange the scammer controls. It's the safe account scam wearing a uniform.
The script, move by move
- Authority and a crime you didn't commit. Money laundering, drug importation, a parcel in your name intercepted at the border. The crime is chosen to frighten, and the “your identity was stolen” framing makes you the victim, which makes the officer your ally.
- A reference number and a way to “verify”. They'll tell you to look up the AFP switchboard yourself — then ring back on a number they give you, or keep you on the line while you “check”. Any verification that runs through the caller is theirs.
- Isolation. Don't tell the bank, staff may be involved. Don't tell family, it could compromise the case. Stay on the phone. This is the part to notice: a real investigator never needs you cut off from anyone.
- The move. Transfer your savings to a wallet on a digital currency exchange “for safekeeping”, or to an account they name. They'll walk you through setting up the exchange account, or send you to a Bitcoin ATM. Once it's there, it's gone.
- The second act. Weeks later, a call from a “recovery unit” offering to get the funds back for a fee. Same people.
What the AFP actually does
If police need to speak with you, they come to your door, write to you, or ask you to attend a station. They don't ring with a warrant and a deadline. ReportCyber is where you report cybercrime to; it doesn't cold-call and it has no “secure wallets”. And no agency in Australia takes payment or custody of funds in cryptocurrency — a request for crypto from any “government” caller is a scam in itself, before you consider anything else they've said.
If you're on the call right now
Hang up. You're allowed to. Then, from your own phone, ring your bank on the number on your card and tell them a caller claiming to be police told me to move my money. If money has moved, say to a crypto exchange — that changes what they do. Then Scamwatch, and IDCARE on 1800 595 160 if you gave identity details. You are not under investigation.
The person you worry about
A parent who grew up trusting the police will follow instructions from a calm, senior-sounding voice for hours. The one habit that beats it: before you move money, forward it. A photo of the emailed warrant, a typed sentence — police say I have to move my savings to a crypto exchange — and Is it a scam? answers in about ten seconds that no police force ever asks this, with the family told at the same moment. That message home is precisely what the caller's isolation script exists to prevent. Try the free checker.
Common questions
Would the AFP ever ask me to move money to protect it?
No. No police force, court or agency asks you to transfer money anywhere for safekeeping. The instruction to move money is the scam regardless of the reference numbers, names or documents that come with it.
They emailed me a warrant with an AFP logo. Is it real?
No. Warrants aren't served by email with a deadline, and a real one would not ask for money. Fake warrants are built from logos copied off public websites. Don't reply, don't ring the number on it; report it to Scamwatch.
Why do they want a digital currency exchange?
Because crypto transfers are fast and effectively irreversible, and because setting up an exchange account under your name makes the money look like your own investment rather than a theft. No Australian agency uses crypto to hold or receive funds.
They told me not to tell my bank because staff are involved. What if that's true?
It isn't. The instruction exists to stop the one phone call that would end the scam. Ring your bank on the number on your card and say what the caller told you.
What is ReportCyber?
The Australian Government's online portal (cyber.gov.au) for reporting cybercrime to police. You report to it; it doesn't ring you, and it has no 'secure wallets' or holding accounts.
A calm voice, a badge number, and an instruction to move everything.
Is it a scam? answers a photo of the warrant or a typed sentence in about ten seconds — no agency asks this — and the family is told at the same time. One Australian number, no app.
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