Kristy McBain brought Stephen Jones to Merimbula and Narooma

We can halve that by doing three things.

Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain organised community anti-scam forums in Merimbula and Narooma on Wednesday, October 25.

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones visited the electorate to give people information and tips to protect themselves and outline what the government is doing about scam.

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Anyone with a bank account, a mobile phone and an internet connection is a target for scams.

However older people lose the most because having worked all their lives, they have more money than younger people.

To explain the difference between hacking and scamming, Mr Jones used the analogy of house burglars.

Hackers break into your house to steal but people open their door to scammers by responding to SMS messages, phone calls and emails.

Many scams come from overseas, are computer-generated and use artificial intelligence.

Communications from scammers usually have spelling mistakes, are addressed to Dear Sir/Madam and direct people to a social media platform like Facebook or WhatsApp to upload their personal or bank account details.

Scammers also try to push people into action by creating a crisis, a sense of panic or an 'opportunity' that will quickly disappear so that people do not stop to think or take the usual precautions.

Mr Jones said not responding immediately to an unsolicited phone call or SMS pretending to be from your bank or telecommunications provider is good protection.

If it is a phone call, he suggested people ask if they can ring the person back but call the number they usually use to contact that institution.

He said there are three things that will halve the money lost to scammers.

Do not allow strangers access to your computer.

Do not give out personal information to unsolicited callers when you are unable to verify who they are.

Do not click on links in text messages.

This month the government launched a cutting-edge National Anti-Scams Centre to crack down on scammers.

It is trying to make things easier for people whose identity has been stolen because the current process via IDCARE on 1800 595 160 is not straightforward.

Next year it will introduce tough new legislation on the banking, telecommunication and social media industries.

"We will be lifting the bar and saying you have an obligation to protect your customers," Mr Jones said.

"However things will still get through and you have a role to play."

It is also taking steps to block bulk SMS messages and will bring back Australian personal data that is stored overseas.

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