People are increasingly being caught out by celebrity endorsement scams, with reports to Scamwatch increasing 400 per cent and losses increasing a staggering 3,800 per cent so far in 2018.
Scamwatch is warning the Australian community to be wary about investment scams, with statistics revealing Australians are collectively losing $4.3 million a month to these scams.
Scammers swindled nearly $4.7 million from Australian businesses in 2017 according to the ACCC’s latest Targeting scams report – a 23 per cent increase compared to 2016.
Scamwatch is urging all Australians who lost money to a scammer through Western Union from 2004 to 2017 to take action by the extended deadline of 31 May to try to get it back.
With tax time in full swing, Scamwatch is again urging consumers and small businesses to be aware of scammers taking advantage of the busy nature of tax time to target you.
In February the ACCC received a spike in contacts about fake rebate schemes so we are warning people to be aware of calls from a fake government department claiming you are owed money.