Sydney, April 28: Australians have lost a whopping $2.74 billion to scams in 2023, reflecting a 13.1 per cent decrease in reported losses thanks to the collaborative efforts of the National Anti-Scam Centre, government, law enforcement, consumer organisations, and industry.
This decline is highlighted in the latest Targeting Scams report, which gathers data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX), IDCARE, and ASIC.
The report indicates that Australians filed over 601,000 scam reports in 2023, marking an 18.5 per cent increase from the previous year.
Investment scams remained the most detrimental, leading to losses of $1.3 billion, followed by remote access scams at $256 million and romance scams at $201.1 million.
Despite the global rise in scam activity, the report showcases the success of targeted and coordinated disruption efforts across various sectors, resulting in reduced financial losses overall.
“It is encouraging to see signs that our coordinated scam prevention, detection and disruption initiatives can stem the flow of funds to criminals and protect consumers,” stated ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe.
“We are optimistic that our combined efforts will continue to reduce scam losses. We will continue this important work because losses remain too high and behind the numbers are real people who have lost money, often every last cent, to scams.”
“That’s why we remain committed to ensuring there are no weak links for scammers to exploit. A Scams Code Framework with strong, mandatory and enforceable obligations on banks, telcos and digital platforms will be central to this,” Lowe added.
“Good data and intel sharing is also key and we will be adding to the number of parties sending data into the National Anti-Scams Centre having made good progress on sending data out.”
Despite the overall decline in losses, the Targeting Scams report reveals troubling trends, with increases in reports of losses due to phishing scams, payment redirection scams, and job scams.
The National Anti-Scam Centre is actively working to integrate data from multiple sources to enhance the detailing of scam trends. Notably, older individuals suffered significantly, with people over the age of 65 experiencing a 13.3 per cent increase in reported losses to $120 million. This age group was particularly affected by investment scams, often initiated through social media.
Text messages emerged as the most reported method of contact, showing a 37.3 per cent increase from the previous year, with 109,621 reports. However, scam calls led to the highest financial losses at $116 million. Social media contact also saw substantial losses, increasing by 16.5 per cent to $93.5 million.
Job scam losses soared by 151.2 per cent to just over $24.3 million, disproportionately affecting individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse communities and those seeking part-time work or trying to ease cost of living pressures.
“Scammers are financial criminals who use sophisticated technology and psychology to rob Australians of their money and personal information,” Lowe commented.
She further explained, “Reports to Scamwatch indicate scammers are targeting older Australians with retirement savings, who may be looking for investment opportunities. We know of a recent case where an elderly woman lost her life savings after seeing a deepfake Elon Musk video on social media, clicking the link and registering her details online. She was assigned a ‘financial advisor’ and could see on an online dashboard she was apparently making returns, but she couldn’t withdraw her money.”
“While the National Anti-Scam Centre has made a positive impact since it was established on 1 July 2023, there is much more work to do. Over the next two years we will continue to invest in technology-based solutions that will centralise intelligence and distribute information to those who can act on it – such as banks to freeze accounts, telcos to block calls or SMSs, and digital platforms to take down websites or accounts,” Lowe said.
“We will partner with other organisations to tackle the most harmful scams and we will continue to raise scams awareness with the people who are most at-risk as we work towards our common goal of making Australia a harder target for scammers.”
The top tips to avoid scams remain crucial:
STOP – Don’t rush to act, as scammers will create a sense of urgency.
THINK – Ask yourself if you really know who you are communicating with, since scammers can impersonate others and lie about their identity, especially online.
PROTECT – Act quickly if something feels wrong. If you have shared financial information or transferred money, contact your bank immediately. Help others by reporting to Scamwatch.
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