最近華人微信朋友圈流傳一則“假消息”，稱有“內政部官員上門索要身份證件”，引起大傢不安。然而此消息為謠傳，此前已作辟謠。
這則在華人微信群中被廣泛傳播的虛假安全警告信息內容如下：
“Security Alert: Be warned, there is a group going to homes andpretending to be officials from home affairs. They have documents with theletterhead Department of Home Affairs and claim to be confirming that everyonehas a valid ID for the upcoming elections. They are robbing homes. Take notethere is no initiative like that from the government. Send this on yourneighborhood group chat. They are everywhere and they look presentable.
安全警告：請當心，有一群人逐傢逐戶拍門，假裝是內政部(Deparment of Home Affairs)官員。他們持有內政部信箋的文件，並聲稱要確認每個人都有一個有效的身份證件，為即將舉行的選舉預備。他們其實是入屋打劫。注意，政府沒有沒有這個行動。請轉髮到您的鄰居，朋友群聊。這些人無處不在，看起來大方得體。”
然而經過調查，此虛假安全警告早在2016年便在南非傳播，此後便在互聯網和社交媒體上盛傳。
針對這則謠言，新州警察局曾官方回復，證實其為虛假警告：
ST. GEORGE POLICE RESPONSE TO RECENT FALSE SOCIAL MEDIA SECURITYALERT
Recent information was published on Chinese social media Wechat about a group of people visiting homes and pretending to be officials from home affairs. The information claims that these persons have documents containing the letterhead of the Department of Home Affairs and are requesting ID documentation from residents to confirm they reside in the area for the upcoming elections. Whilst the resident is obtaining their ID leaving the door unattended, the persons involved are taking the opportunity to enter and steal from the premises.
There have been no reports to Police of these types of incidents in the St. George/Hurstville area. It is believed that the information circulating on social media is not correct and the author is not known.
As is always the case, should any members of the public receive information that appears doubtful, notice anyone or anything that appears out of place or suspicious, please contact your local Police Station for assistance.
For residents of St George Police Area Command, please contact Kogarah Police Station on 8566 7499 or Hurstville Police Station 9375 8599.
微信給華人的日常生活帶來不少的便利，卻也因其便捷和強大的社交功能，有時會被別有用心的人利用，成為悉尼華人社區各類謠言和騙局的髮源地和傳播的溫床，也導致某些華人一不小心而上當受騙。
為避免不必要的擔心和惶恐，希望大傢下次遇到類似的情況，在善意提醒提醒傢人朋友而轉髮傳播消息之前，先冷靜思索一下消息的真實性和可靠性，然後通過真實的官方渠道驗證。