Aussies have lost a staggering $455 million to scams so far this year and there was one type that accounted for more than half of all losses.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch received more than 280,000 scam reports during the year, up from the 239,000 reported in 2022.
Of those reports, nearly one in 10 resulted in the person suffering a financial loss. May was the worst month for scams, with more than $53 million lost.
Investment scams were by far the most costly, accounting for more than $275 million in losses from January to November. These include cryptocurrency scams, Ponzi schemes, fake bond scams and fake celebrity-endorsement scams.
Scammers often impersonate Australian personalities, including the likes of former Sunrise host David Koch and mining magnate Gina Rinehart.
The scams often promise people big returns and try to pressure them into investing in schemes quickly so they don’t “miss out”.
Coming in second were dating and romance scams, Scamwatch data found, where scammers pose as people looking for love and try to gain their trust.
Rounding out the top three were false-billing scams – where scammers contact people asking them to pay for services or goods they never ordered. One example is an email claiming you will be charged auto-renewal fees.
Aussies were targeted the most by scammers through text messages, with more than 100,900 reports made during the year. However, phone calls accounted for the biggest losses – totalling more than $110 million.
Older Aussies lost the most amount of money, with those aged 65 and over fleeced out of $114 million, followed by those aged 55 to 64 at $94 million.
Top scams
Here were the top 10 scams for the year in terms of amount lost:
- Investment scams – $275,923,066
- Dating and romance – $33,580,806
- False billing – $26,322,284
- Phishing – $25,219,813
- Jobs and employment scams – $23,633,028
- Remote access scams – $15,276,563
- Threats to life, arrest or other – $13,802,434
- Identity theft – $8,180,300
- Rebate scams – $7,950,216
- Classified scams – $7,531,428
Phishing scams were actually the most reported scam during the year by far, with Aussies calling in more than 99,000 instances. These are where scammers try to trick people into giving out their personal information, such as their bank details, passwords and credit cards.
