Australians are being urged to have a heart-to-heart with their friends and family members this Valentine’s Day, as they can play a vital role in protecting their loved ones from the heartache caused by scams.
Losses to imposter bond investment scams have nearly tripled in the first half of this year with consumers losing over $20 million to these sophisticated scams.
The financial and emotional devastation caused by scams every year in Australia can be reduced if government, consumer groups and the private sector work together.
Australian businesses lost $227 million to payment redirection scams in 2021, a 77 per cent increase compared to 2020, the ACCC’s latest Targeting Scams report reveals.
Scammers stole over $66 million last year from Indigenous Australians, people who identified as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), and people with disability, according to new data from the ACCC’s annual Targeting Scams report.
Australians lost a record amount of more than $2 billion to scams in 2021, despite government, law enforcement, and the private sector disrupting more scam activity than ever before, the ACCC’s latest Targeting Scams report reveals.
Australians lost over $205 million to scams between 1 January and 1 May, a 166 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, according to new data from Scamwatch.
Scamwatch is urging people to watch out for dating and romance scams after Australians reported losing a record $56 million last year, an increase of 44 per cent.
Australians have already lost about $12.9 million to online shopping including classifieds scams so far this year, and the ACCC is urging consumers to watch out for dodgy deals as pre-holiday sales approach.
