SCAMwatch is a website run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). SCAMwatch provides information to consumers and small businesses about how to recognise, avoid and report scams.
Many scams originate overseas or take place over the internet, making them very difficult to track down and prosecute. If you lose money to a scam, it is unlikely that you will be able to recover your loss. The ACCC publishes this website to help consumers recognise and prevent scams.
The ACCC's roles extend beyond preventing scams and include other areas of consumer protection, infrastructure regulation, cartels and other forms of anti-competitive conduct. See the link below for more information on the ACCC.
The ACCC also works with state and territory fair trading agencies and other government agencies to promote awareness in the community about scams. In 2005 the ACCC and these other agencies formed the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce (ACFT) to coordinate this work. For more information about the ACFT, see the link below.