Updated January 28, 2020 15:11:08

Photo: More than 100 Australian children are currently trapped in Wuhan. (Supplied)

Chinese-Australians in Wuhan have been warned not to fall for an online scam promising to help them flee the quarantined city which is the "ground zero" of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

An online evacuation form targeting Chinese-Australians who wish to leave the city has been exposed as fake by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The form requires people to fill in their personal details including their name, address, mobile number, specific geographical location, passport type and any extra needs during the supposed evacuation process.

Chinese cities covering more than 20 million people have been placed into lockdown.

A link to the registration form has been widely shared on WeChat, titled Chinese Australian in Wuhan, with the accompanying text:

"Please share this as much as you can, let Chinese-Australian citizens and permanent residents fill out this form as soon as possible. Although the epidemic situation is now under control, the situation remains grim.

"All the information collected is only used for notification purposes of the epidemic situation and the evacuation for overseas Chinese Australians.

"The information will be destroyed immediately after the epidemic situation is over and will not be retained."

China has reported 25 more deaths in the coronavirus outbreak as the toll rises to at least 106. The total number of confirmed cases has climbed to more than 4,200 worldwide.

Number of Australians in Wuhan remains unclear

Photo: The social media scam translates to: Australian-Chinese in Wuhan (Weibo)

The ABC has confirmed more than 100 Australian children are currently trapped in the area, including Melbourne father Yi Xu and his six-month-old daughter.

Many like him are desperate to go back home, he told the ABC.

"I don't know how many people have filled in that form, but it's understandable because parents are anxious and eager to evacuate their children with the help of DFAT," he said.

"Everybody is trying their best to find ways to make that happen."

Speaking to Melbourne radio station 3AW yesterday, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said, "we don't have a definitive number on the number of Australians in Wuhan or in Hubei province, because it will include a significant number of dual nationals, some of who may not have travelled on Australian passports."

"If we are able to support Australians to travel, if they wish to leave, then we would like to do that."

Chinese authorities have implemented harsh new lockdown policies in the Wuhan area, including a ban on using private vehicles from the weekend.

China's Beijing Public Transport Group said it would suspend the majority of bus services into neighbouring Hebei province starting on Tuesday (local time) to contain the spread of coronavirus, according to a statement on its official Weibo account.

Scammers capitalise on crisis

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the purpose of phishing scams was to trick people into giving up their personal information — a precursor to hacking and identity theft.

That personal information could then be used to steal money or bypass two-factor authentication.

"Unfortunately, scammers often capitalise on emergency situations or tragic events as soon as they happen," an ACCC spokesperson told the ABC in a statement.

"Scams succeed because they look legitimate and catch you off guard when you're not expecting it."

They added that scammers were taking advantage of major events and new technologies or platforms, like WeChat.

"People tend to be more vulnerable during emergencies or stressful situations and may act in haste, which could result in more people falling victim to a scam than otherwise would."

They advised people who feared scammers had gained access to their personal information to contact their bank, and to notify relevant agencies if other details, like passport details or Medicare numbers, had been supplied.

People can also contact IDCARE on 1300 IDCARE (432 273) if they have been the victim of a scam.

Topics: government-and-politics, health, disease-control, respiratory-diseases, china, australia

First posted January 28, 2020 14:24:56