Saleha Singh has spent years supporting vulnerable women in migrant communities – women experiencing family violence, mental health issues, and grief – many of whom speak limited English and rely on her charity to access life-changing support services.

Through her organisation’s Facebook page, Chai, Chat & Community, Saleha created a digital sanctuary where women could connect, share stories, and find pathways to help. But four years of trust-building came under threat when cybercriminals hijacked the page and used it to promote fake investment scams.

Like many small businesses and charities across Australia, Saleha never imagined she’d be a target for cybercrime. But when her personal email, social media accounts, and charitable page were compromised, criminals impersonated her – targeting the very women she was trying to protect.

Thankfully, Saleha turned to IDCARE, the national scam, identity and cyber support service. Through its Small Business Cyber Resilience Service, funded by the Federal Government, IDCARE helped her recover access to her accounts and strengthen her cyber resilience.

Now, Saleha is sharing her story across migrant communities, raising awareness about the growing threat of cybercrime and the vital importance of cyber safety.

“Many small organisations don’t think they’re a target – until it’s too late,” Saleha said. “Getting support from IDCARE helped me get back on my feet. Now I want to help others protect themselves before they go through what I did.”

In the six months since receiving Federal Government funding to provide the Small Business Cyber Resilience Service to businesses with 19 or fewer full-time equivalent staff, IDCARE has uncovered alarming trends. The average score on its Cyber Security Health Assessment was just 35%.

Key findings include:

• Only 45% of small businesses had procedures to verify changes to payment details to detect fraudulent invoices.

• Just 43% had enabled multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect their email accounts.

• Only 30% had MFA on their social media accounts.

“These are simple but crucial steps,” said David Murdoch, Team Leader for IDCARE’s Small Business Cyber Resilience team. “They can make a huge difference in helping to protect businesses from cyber attacks.”

IDCARE is urging eligible small business owners to use its free service, which includes a Cyber Security Health Check and one-on-one support from expert advisors.

IDCARE is also launching a series of short, easy-to-understand videos and events during May to help demystify cyber safety for small businesses and community organisations.

For more information or media enquiries, please contact: Kathy Sundstrom via email kathy@idcare.org