Scam losses down as Australians fleeced by $2.74bn

Australians’ annual losses to scams have fallen for the first time in seven years as the government steps up its campaign to stop people being fleeced. The insight comes in the annual Targeting Scams report, which shows $2.74 billion was lost to scams online, by phone or in person in 2023. This figure is down from $3.15 billion in 2022, a 13 per cent decrease, and comes after the National Anti-Scam Centre was launched in July 2023. It marks the first time money lost annually from scams declined since 2016. There was a drop of 21 per cent in the second half of 2023 compared with the first six months. However, Australians made more 601,000 scam reports in 2023, up from 507,000 in 2022. Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones said the federal government’s aim was to keep all Australians’ money away from scammers. “This report shows that our plan is working, but every dollar lost to a scam is a tragedy and we will continue to roll out our anti-scam program,” he said. “We want Australia to be a world leader in combating scammers and our mandatory codes will put us well ahead.” The report combined data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, AFCX, ASIC, and IDCARE to analyse trends by contact method and scam type. Among the results were investment scam losses decreasing by 13 per cent, remote access scam losses increasing by 12 per cent and romance scam losses decreasing by four per cent. Similarly, phishing scam losses decreased by 13 per cent and payment redirection scam losses decreased by a huge 59 per cent. However, while scam losses originating from a phone call or text message decreased by 18 per cent, and six per cent respectively, scams originating on social media increased by 17 per cent.