Data from the ACCC’s annual Targeting Scams report, released this week, indicates scammers don’t discriminate and are targeting a range of different communities in Australia.

In 2019, people who reported speaking English as a second language lost $13.7 million, an increase of 90 per cent on the previous year, despite the number of reports remaining steady.

This increase was mainly from investment scams, which accounted for over $5.3 million in losses in this group.

“Investment scams often begin with cold calls promising low risk investments with high returns and can go on for months, resulting in high individual losses,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.

“If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t let anyone pressure you and make sure you take the time to research the investment opportunity and get financial advice before agreeing to anything.”

Dating and romance scams had the next highest losses in this group at $2.7 million, followed by scams using threats to life or arrest at $1.7 million.

“Chinese authority scams continue to target the Mandarin-speaking community by accusing victims of perpetrating a crime, and threatening arrest or deportation if they do not provide money, or information such as their bank account balances and identity details,” Ms Rickard said.

Losses to Chinese authority scams in 2019 increased by 40 per cent on 2018 figures, up to $2 million.

Last year, 4.6 per cent of reports to Scamwatch came from people who speak English as a second language and 1.6 per cent came from people who identified as Indigenous.

“We want to encourage all community groups to report to Scamwatch and not feel embarrassed or ashamed if they have been a victim of a scam,” Ms Rickard said.

In 2019 there were 2,767 scam reports from Indigenous consumers, a 14 per cent increase from 2018, but the $2.1 million lost was 30 per cent lower.

Again, the most financially harmful scams in this group were investment scams, with over $1.1 million lost. This was followed by dating and romance scams with nearly half a million in losses.

“If you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank immediately and if you have any concerns about your safety, contact the police,” Ms Rickard said.

“The ACCC has translated our Little Black Book of Scams into ten different languages to assist the wider community to learn about scams and how to avoid them.”

“We are also continuing our Indigenous outreach programs and sharing scam warnings on the Your Rights Mob Facebook page,” Ms Rickard said.

For more information about scams visit www.scamwatch.gov.au, follow @scamwatch_gov on Twitter and subscribe to Scamwatch radar alerts.

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Phishing scams are attempts by scammers to deceive you into giving out your personal information such as your bank account numbers, passwords and credit card numbers.
Hacking occurs when a scammer gains access to your personal information by using technology to break into your computer, mobile device or network.
Scammers will use any means possible to steal your identity or your money – including threatening your life or 'hijacking' your computer.
Threats to life, arrest or other involve demands by scammers to pay money that you supposedly owe and threats if you do not cooperate.
Online shopping scams involve scammers pretending to be legitimate online sellers, either with a fake website or a fake ad on a genuine retailer site.
False billing scams request you or your business to pay fake invoices for directory listings, advertising, domain name renewals or office supplies that you did not order.
Unexpected money scams involve someone overseas offering you a share in a large sum of money or a payment on the condition you help them to transfer money out of their country.
Rebate scams try to convince you that you are entitled to a rebate or reimbursement from the government, a bank or trusted organisation.
Don't be lured by a surprise win. These scams try to deceive you into giving money upfront or your personal information in order to receive a prize from a lottery or competition that you never entered.
Unexpected prize and lottery scams work by asking you to pay some sort of fee in order to claim your prize or winnings from a competition or lottery you never entered.