News & alerts

Consumers are being warned to watch out for scam websites impersonating high-profile Australian retailers when shopping online this Black Friday, Cyber Monday sale weekend (24-27 November 2023).

People looking for work are losing money to scammers who pretend to be real organisations or recruiters offering work.

In May 2023, the government funded the ACCC to set up a new National Anti-Scam Centre. The centre will bring together experts from government and the private sector to tackle harmful scams.

Australians reported a record $211 million in losses to scams so far this year, an 89 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, according to new data from Scamwatch.

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.

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.

Payment redirection scams were the most financially damaging scams for Australian businesses in 2020 according to the ACCC’s latest Targeting Scams report.

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.

Australian businesses reported over $14 million in losses to Scamwatch due to payment redirection scams last year, and average losses so far in 2021 are more than five times higher compared to average losses in the same period last year.