Australians are reporting fewer scams to Scamwatch, with a 24 per cent decrease in reports in the first half of this year. However, financial losses have increased by 26 per cent, reaching $174.8 million. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is urging vigilance against emerging AI-powered scams, including voice cloning and deepfake videos.
Scammers are favouring fake websites, online ads and social media to target victims. Phishing scams accounted for $19.5 million in losses, driven by cryptocurrency impersonation. Reports involving losses have increased by 40.5 per cent, with a higher impact on those who speak English as a second language (44 per cent) and First Nations Australians (55.3 per cent). Despite the increase, losses are still 39 per cent lower than the same period in 2023, with peak losses occurring in 2022 and early 2023.
During Scams Awareness Week, the National Anti-Scam Centre is promoting a 'Stop. Check. Protect' strategy. The average reported loss was $12,212, a decrease of about 10 per cent. The ACCC emphasises that technology enables scammers to reach more people with increasingly sophisticated and difficult-to-detect methods.
