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![SAW banner - 180 x 136](/sites/www.scamwatch.gov.au/files/styles/scamwatch_news/public/2022-11/SAW_Banners_Web_180x136.jpg?itok=83M29HPa)
Scams Awareness Week 2022 takes place 7-11 November. This Scams Awareness Week we’re encouraging you to learn ways to identify scams and take the time to check whether an offer or contact is genuine before you act on it.
![Scams awareness week. Stop scams. Speak up.](/sites/www.scamwatch.gov.au/files/styles/scamwatch_news/public/2021-11/sawhome.png?itok=ZWpW0XdY)
Scams Awareness Week 2021 takes place 8-12 November. This Scams Awareness Week we’re encouraging everyone to start a conversation about scams.
![Investment scams thumbnail](/sites/www.scamwatch.gov.au/files/styles/scamwatch_news/public/type-of-scam-images/investment-scams-thumb.jpg?itok=hFNGNdK_)
Investment scams reported to Scamwatch have cost Australians over $70 million in the first half of this year, more than the total losses reported to Scamwatch for all of 2020, and projected losses are set to reach $140 million by the end of the year.
![Laptop](/sites/www.scamwatch.gov.au/files/styles/scamwatch_news/public/related-article/Laptop_0.jpg?itok=YzOa_6An)
So far this year scammers have stolen more than $7.2 million from Australians by gaining access to home computers, an increase of 184 per cent compared to the same period last year.
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Last year scammers stole close to $34 million collectively from people who identified as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), people with disability, and Indigenous Australians.
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Payment redirection scams were the most financially damaging scams for Australian businesses in 2020 according to the ACCC’s latest Targeting Scams report.
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Australians have already lost over $288,000 to vehicle scams in the first quarter of this year, more than all losses reported to Scamwatch in 2019, and scammers have now begun impersonating defence personnel to con their victims.
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Australians reported a record-breaking $37 million lost to Scamwatch last year for dating and romance scams. Total losses are expected to be much higher and scammers are now using dating apps to lure victims into investment scams.
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Losses to online shopping scams have increased 42 per cent this year, and Scamwatch is warning Australians to be careful when buying gifts this holiday season.
![a lady on a phone call looking concerned and hands on her forehead](/sites/www.scamwatch.gov.au/files/styles/scamwatch_news/public/type-of-scam-images/identity-theft2-thumb.jpg?itok=GcPpYtAJ)
Australians have lost over $300,000 to rental and accommodation scams this year, an increase of 76 per cent compared to the same time last year.