Increasing your safety online

Scammers often pretend to be from trusted government organisations like the ABS.

You can verify the legitimacy of a survey or ABS employee by contacting us and confirming your households or businesses selection in an ABS survey.

Text messages from us will come from the sender IDs ABSGov or CENSUS. This is the name that appears at the top of the message instead of a phone number.

From 1 July 2026, Australian Government rules require organisations to register the sender IDs they use for text messages. Messages sent from names that are not registered will be labelled 'Unverified' on your phone. ABS interviewers however may still contact you from a standard phone number about an ABS Survey.

What this means for you:

• If you receive a text about an ABS survey, check the sender ID says ABSGov.
• If you receive a text about the Census, check the sender ID says CENSUS.
• If you receive a text from an ABS interviewer about an ABS Survey, it may be from a standard number, but will not contain any links.
• 'If a message claims to be from us but is labelled 'Unverified' or comes from an unfamiliar name, do not click any links or reply.

We will never ask for you to share your bank details, tax file number or passwords via text. 

If you are unsure whether a message is genuine, do not use any links in the message. You can contact us to verify it or visit the ACMA website  to learn more about the SMS Sender ID Register.

• We usually contact your household in writing to let you know you have been selected for a survey.
• An ABS Interviewer will always show official identification and explain why we are collecting information and how it will be used.

• We will never ask you to provide, or confirm, your bank details or tax file number.
• We will never contact you to say you have won a prize, such as an iPhone or money, for participating in an ABS survey.

• If you get an email or letter claiming to be from the ABS and you are concerned it may be a scam, you can contact us. We can help to verify whether it is real. Do not click on any links or reply to any emails that you think may be suspicious.
• If someone calls you and claims to be from the ABS and you are worried it's a scam, ask for the caller's name and end the call. You can then verify the caller by contacting us.
• If you get a suspicious message or request on social media from someone claiming to be from ABS, let us know by contacting us. 

For information on how to increase your own cyber security please refer to:

• Online safety - eSafety Commissioner
• Protect yourself - Australian Signals Directorate
• Stay secure - Australian Government