New data from Scamwatch has revealed that Australians have lost over $205 million to scams just from January to April, a 166 per cent increase compared to the same months last year.  

While the true losses are likely to be much higher as research showed that only around 13 per cent of people reported their losses to Scamwatch, the majority of losses have been caused by investment scams. 

These investment scams have led to Australians losing over a total of $158 million, an increase of 314 per cent compared to the same period last year. 

Although the reported losses have increased, the number of reports has reduced slightly, indicating that people are reporting higher individual losses.  

“We are seeing more money lost to investment scams and so are urging all Australians not to trust investment opportunities that seem too good to be true,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said. 

The majority of losses to investment scams involved crypto investments, with $113 million reported lost this year, as cryptocurrency has become the most common payment method for these kinds of scams. 

“Australians should be very wary of anyone asking them to invest in or transfer money using cryptocurrency, especially if it’s someone you have only met online. Many consumers are unfamiliar with the complexities of cryptocurrency and this can make them more vulnerable to scams,” Ms Rickard said. 

Scamwatch has also seen an increase in imposter bond scams this year, with $10.9 million reported lost. 

Imposter bond scams usually impersonate real financial companies or banks and claim to offer government/Treasury bonds or fixed-term deposits. 

Scamwatch data also shows scam contact methods are changing with text messages up 54 per cent between 1 January and 1 May this year, surpassing phone calls as the most common contact mode. 

“If you receive an unexpected text message or phone call from someone offering you an opportunity to invest, it is likely a scam and you should immediately hang up or delete the message,” Ms Rickard said. 

Phone scams have almost halved in the last year, suggesting that the Reducing Scams Call Code 2020, which pushed telco providers to block incoming calls from scammers, has successfully limited opportunities for criminals to scam Australians. 

New rules to block scam text messages will also be introduced this year. 

People aged 55 to 64 reported the highest total losses, $32 million between 1 January and 1 May and over 80 per cent of losses reported by this age group were lost to investment scams. 

In their efforts to prevent an increase in online scams, the ACCC is currently taking action over alleged misleading conduct by Meta for publishing scam celebrity crypto ads on Facebook. 

Source: ACCC Media Release

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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