Payment safety checks for sending money to someone you have not met

A practical checklist for Australians sending money overseas to an unfamiliar recipient: verify identity, use traceable payments and check for scam warning signs.

The decision in front of you

Sending money to someone you have never met is a different problem from paying a known contact. With a friend or a registered business, you can usually recover the relationship if something goes wrong. With an unfamiliar recipient, the payment itself is often the only leverage you have, and once it is collected it may be effectively gone.

This guide is built around one task: deciding whether to press send, and what to check first. It is written for Australians sending money overseas, such as paying an overseas seller, a newly found supplier, an online contact, or a person who approached you first.

Nothing here is a guarantee. The purpose of the checks below is to slow the transaction down enough that you can see what you are actually agreeing to.

Why this scenario carries more risk than a normal transfer

Three features tend to stack up in these payments:

You cannot verify the recipient independently. There is no shared history, no local business registration you can inspect, and often no way to confirm that the name on the account belongs to the person you have been messaging.
The payment method may be irreversible. Some methods used in high-risk situations are designed to be final and hard to trace, which is exactly what makes them attractive to scammers.
Pressure is usually part of the process. Urgency, secrecy and time limits are common tactics because they stop you completing the checks below.

Moneysmart, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's consumer website, warns readers to be aware of scams in the specific situation where you send money to someone (moneysmart.gov.au). The same source points readers to checking and reporting scams. Treat that as a signal, not a formality: scam awareness is the core of this decision, not an afterthought.

Step 1: Check the recipient before you check the payment method

Do this first. A perfect payment method does not save you if the person on the other end is not who they claim to be.

Ask, and actually wait for answers:

Can you reach them on a channel you found independently, rather than one they supplied? Search the organisation or name yourself and contact it through details you located, not details in their message.
Does the account name match the person or business you believe you are paying? A mismatch between the name you were given and the name on the account is a reason to stop.
Is the story consistent across messages? Changes in bank details, a new account "because the other one had a problem", or a switch of payment method mid-conversation are warning signs.
Are you being asked to keep the payment secret from your bank, family, or the platform you met on? Legitimate recipients do not need you to hide the transfer.
Have you been asked to pay a fee, tax, deposit or "release charge" to unlock money you have not yet received? Paying to receive money is a common pattern in scam approaches.

If asked for a photo of identification, treat it as a weak check. Documents can be borrowed, stolen or generated. Independent contact is the stronger test.

Step 2: Confirm the provider is registered

According to Moneysmart, money transfer services in Australia must be registered with AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre). That registration requirement is a useful screening tool: before you hand money to a transfer service or agent, check that it is registered, and be cautious if a provider cannot or will not give you its registration details.

Practical interpretation, not a sourced fact: registration tells you the service is on the Australian register. It does not tell you the recipient is honest, and it does not make a risky payment safe.

Step 3: Use a payment method you can trace and query

Before choosing a method, ask your bank or provider three questions and note the answers:

Question	Why it matters
Can this payment be traced end to end?	You need a reference number and a record of where the money went.
Can it be stopped, recalled or disputed if the recipient is not genuine?	Some methods offer little or no recourse once collected.
Who do I contact first if the money does not arrive or goes to the wrong person?	Knowing the complaint path in advance saves time later.

Be especially cautious with any request that pushes you towards a method you cannot query — for example, paying a stranger through a channel you would not use for a known recipient. If the only method a recipient will accept is one with no trace or no dispute process, that constraint itself is the warning.

Step 4: Understand the full cost before you commit

Moneysmart advises checking the fees when sending money overseas, and also checking how much your money is worth in another country — the exchange rate, such as how many Australian dollars it takes to buy one euro.

Two practical points follow from that:

The amount the recipient collects is not the same as the amount you pay. Fees and the exchange rate both sit between the two. Ask the provider to show the total you will pay and the amount the recipient will receive, in writing, before you confirm.
Compare those two numbers across more than one option. Do not compare the advertised fee alone, because a low fee can sit alongside a weaker exchange rate.

This guide does not list or compare rates or fees, because those change constantly. Check them at the time you transact.

Step 5: Know your complaint path

Moneysmart notes that if you are not happy with a provider's response and that provider is a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), you can escalate the matter. Before you send a large or first-time payment, it is worth knowing whether your provider is an AFCA member and what its complaints process looks like. Keep your receipt, reference number, and copies of the messages that led to the payment — those records matter if you need to complain or report.

Pre-payment checklist

Work through this before you press send:

I contacted the person or organisation through details I found myself, not only details they gave me.
The account name matches who I believe I am paying.
Nobody has asked me to keep the payment secret or to tell my bank a different reason for it.
I have not been asked to pay a fee to receive money, goods or a service I have not yet got.
My transfer provider is registered with AUSTRAC, and I have checked that myself.
I have a traceable reference number and know whether the payment can be recalled or disputed.
I have the total cost in writing: fees plus the amount the recipient will actually receive.
I know the provider's complaints process and whether it is an AFCA member.
I am sending an amount I can afford to lose if the recipient turns out not to be genuine.

If you cannot tick most of these, the safest action is to wait. A legitimate recipient can wait for you to do checks. A scammer usually cannot.

Questions you should verify yourself

This guide gives you a framework, not current figures or rules. Verify the following directly with official or primary sources at the time you act:

Whether a specific money transfer service is registered with AUSTRAC.
Your provider's exact fees, exchange rate and total cost for this transaction.
Whether the payment method you are using offers any dispute, recall or reversal process, and on what terms.
Whether your provider is a member of AFCA and how to escalate a complaint.
Current scam warnings and reporting channels published by Moneysmart and other Australian government sources.
Whether any additional identification, tax or reporting obligations apply to the amount and destination involved.

Concrete next steps

Pause the payment. Nothing about a genuine transfer requires you to decide in the next hour.
Make independent contact with the supposed recipient using details you found yourself.
Check the provider's AUSTRAC registration, and get its fees and the recipient's net amount in writing.
If anything does not add up — a changed account, a secrecy request, a fee to release money — stop and report rather than negotiate.
If you have already sent money and now suspect a scam, contact your bank or provider immediately and report it through the official scam reporting channels listed by Moneysmart.

General information only

This article is general information for Australian consumers. It is not legal, tax, financial, migration or credit advice, and it does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. It does not predict or promise any outcome from a payment, a complaint or a report. Australian Cash is not a lender, broker, government body, regulator or comparison service. Rules, costs and processes change: confirm current details with your provider and with the official sources linked above before acting. If you need advice about your specific circumstances, speak to a qualified professional or contact the relevant government agency directly.