In one line: if you get a message saying you just bought something expensive and that you must call a number urgently to stop it, don’t call — it’s almost certainly a scam.
What This Scam Looks Like
Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre issued a fresh warning on 14 July 2026 about a wave of “fake purchase callback” scams. You receive a text, email, app notification or even a calendar invite claiming you’ve just bought something you didn’t — often a phone, security software, plane tickets, or cryptocurrency, usually priced between $300 and $2,000. The message might mention a familiar service like PayPal, and can even include your real name, email or phone number to make it feel legitimate.
Some versions arrive disguised as:
- Shop App order receipts
- Google Meet invitations
- Apple iMessage texts
- PayPal invoices
- Norton or McAfee renewal emails
- Microsoft subscription emails
Why It Works
The whole trick relies on urgency. The message tells you the “payment” will go through in a short window unless you call the number provided right now. That pressure is designed to stop you thinking straight. Once you’re on the phone, the scammer might ask for your bank details “to process a refund,” claim they overpaid you and ask you to send money back, talk you into installing remote access software, or even ask you to buy gift cards to “help catch the scammer.”
What To Do If You Get One
Scamwatch’s advice boils down to three steps:
- Stop. Don’t call the number in the message, and don’t hand over card details, passwords, one-time codes or gift card numbers.
- Check. Log in to the real account (PayPal, your bank, etc.) directly through its official app or website — never through a link or number in the message — to see if the payment is actually real.
- Protect. If you’ve already shared details or sent money, act quickly. Scamwatch has step-by-step guidance on what to do next, and we’ve also covered it in our own guide on what to do if you’ve fallen victim to a scam.
It’s Not the Only Scam Doing the Rounds
This callback trick is just the newest entry in a busier-than-usual few months for Scamwatch. Recent alerts also cover fake ATO and myGov messages as tax time approaches, and a joint warning from ACMA and the National Anti-Scam Centre about criminals taking over mobile phone numbers to intercept the verification codes your bank, myGov and other accounts rely on. The pattern across all of these is the same: a message or call designed to feel official and urgent enough that you skip the “is this actually real?” step.
A Quick Gut-Check Habit Worth Building
Genuine companies don’t threaten to take your money in the next ten minutes. If a message makes you feel rushed, that’s usually the biggest red flag of all — a point we went into in our piece on trusting your gut with online scams. It’s also worth brushing up on the classic warning signs in how to spot a scam email or text, since this callback scam borrows a lot of the same tricks.
If You Run a Small Business
These messages often land on personal phones, but staff using work email or a shared business PayPal account are just as likely to be targeted. It’s worth a two-minute team reminder: nobody should call a number from an unexpected “purchase” message, and any refund or payment dispute should be checked directly through your provider’s dashboard, not a phone number in a text. If your business takes card payments or invoices customers by email, it’s also worth a reminder that customers may receive convincing fake “refund” messages that appear to reference your business by name.
Worried You’ve Clicked Something You Shouldn’t Have?
If you’re not sure whether a message is genuine, or you think you may have already given a scammer access to your device or accounts, don’t wait it out. Get in touch through our computer repairs and support page and we’ll help you check your accounts and lock things down properly.