Australia’s Scam Losses Decrease to $2.7 Billion in 2023

Australians fell victim to scams amounting to $2.74 billion (US$1.77 billion) in 2023, with individuals aged 65 and above bearing the brunt of the losses.

While there was a 13.1 percent decrease in scam losses compared to the previous year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reported an 18.5 percent increase in scam reports, reaching 601,000.

Investment scams accounted for the highest financial losses at $1.3 billion, followed by remote access scams at $201.1 million.

Losses from phishing and payment redirection scams amounted to $137.4 million and $91.6 million, respectively.

According to ACCC’s Scamwatch data, individuals aged over 65 suffered the most significant monetary losses across all age groups, reporting a loss of $121 million. This age group experienced more losses compared to the previous year, primarily due to investment scams originating from social media platforms.

The ACCC suspects that scammers target individuals with substantial retirement savings who are seeking investment opportunities.

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Scamwatch registered 22,080 scam reports from individuals with disabilities and 14,396 reports from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.

First Nations reported 6,192 scams, while businesses alerted the consumer watchdog about 4,933 scams. The most commonly reported contact method was text messages, with 109,621 reports, although scam calls resulted in the highest losses at $116 million.

The ACCC attributed the decline in overall financial losses from scams to the efforts of the National Anti-Scam Centre in preventing, detecting, and disrupting scams through collaboration with government, industry, law enforcement, and community organizations.

ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe stated, “While the National Anti-Scam Centre has made positive strides since its establishment in July 2023, there is still much work to be done. Over the next two years, we will continue to invest in technology-based solutions to centralize intelligence and disseminate information to relevant parties.”

Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin expressed concerns over the substantial consumer harm resulting from reported losses. She emphasized the responsibilities of banks, telcos, and digital platforms in taking responsibility and reimbursing affected customers, as well as the necessity of federal legislation to safeguard Australians’ financial well-being.

Ms. Tonkin said, “Every day through our frontline services, we hear from individuals losing significant amounts to increasingly sophisticated scams. Despite collaborative efforts, customers are still facing inconsistent and inadequate responses from their banks and dispute resolution services when seeking assistance.”

The demographic data in the report underscored the importance of engaging with at-risk groups, conducting widespread scam prevention campaigns, providing tools and resources to help individuals recognize and avoid scams, and conducting further research to understand information preferences and reporting behaviors.

The ACCC recommended these initiatives after highlighting the vulnerability of CALD communities to job scams, which saw a 151.2 percent increase in losses to over $24.3 million compared to 2022.

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones emphasized the ongoing efforts of the Albanese Government to combat scammers while urging Australians to stay alert and report any suspicious activities.

The Targeting Scams report compiled data from various sources, including Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX), IDCARE, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).