Reports of scam losses to the ACCC’s Scamwatch service declined in the December quarter, with decreases in all the common forms of scam activity.
The National Anti-Scam Centre released its latest quarterly update this week, reporting that Australians notified Scamwatch of A$82.1 million of scam losses in the December quarter 2023.
This is down 43 per cent compared with the same period in 2022 and down 26 per cent compared with the September quarter last year.
There were 67,116 scam reports – down 8 per cent year-on-year.
Reports of investment scam losses, cryptocurrency fraud, bank transfer fraud and losses where social media networking is the contact method were all down.
ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said in a statement that government and industry investment in anti-scam measures, which includes the establishment of the National Anti-Scam Centre last year, was starting to get results.
Lowe said: “We are improving the technology and awareness needed to protect Australians from new and emerging scams and their devastating financial and psychological impact.”
The average scam loss reported to Scamwatch was $1224 – 8 per cent down on the average in the December quarter 2022.
Investment scams were the biggest cause of loss, at $52.4 million.
One area where there was an increase in activity was the number of reports of fake websites impersonating retail stores. The National Anti-Scam Centre worked with retailers to disrupt these activities.
Scammers are increasingly using social media data to be more strategic about targeting people with scam advertisements based on profile preferences, personal details and browsing history.
The top scam contact method is text message, accounting for 38 per cent of all scam contacts during the quarter, followed by emails and phone calls.