Jobseekers are being urged to watch out for scammers, with new Scamwatch figures revealing Australians lost over $8.7 million to recruitment scams in 2022.
Scamwatch is urging the public to be wary of phone messages from a family member or friend claiming they need help, following a significant rise in “Hi Mum” scams in recent months.
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.
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.
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 lost over $851 million to scams in 2020, a record amount, as scammers took advantage of the pandemic to con unsuspecting people, according to the ACCC’s latest Targeting Scams report released today.
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.
