Australians called upon to report and share their scam experiences as part of Scams Awareness Week

As part of Scams Awareness Week (August 26-30), Australians are being urged to speak out against such malicious activity, report scams, and share their experiences as one expert emphasises the importance of recognising the warning signs of financial scams.

Dr. Braam Lowies from the University of South Australia (UniSA), who specialises in financial capability among older adults, stresses that falling victim to scams can lead to severe emotional distress and financial hardship.

“Scammers can deliberately cause feelings of shame and guilt and they can create and take advantage of different situations, including if someone is busy, scared or stressed,” Dr Lowies explained.

“Scammers will also make their victims feel isolated from support networks, creating a false sense that the victim is entirely reliant on them. People are less likely to report scams when they feel ashamed, but it’s important that we share our experiences to help others feel confident to do the same.”

Dr Lowies’ insights come after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)  released its latest Targeting Scams report, revealing that although scam losses fell by 13 percent in 2023, Australians still lost a staggering $2.7 billion to scams.

The Targeting Scams report also highlights the growing prevalence of scam activity, with Australians reporting over 601,000 scams to agencies like Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Crimes Exchange, IDCARE, and ASIC in 2023, an 18.5 per cent increase from 2022. Investment scams remained the most damaging, followed by remote access and romance scams.

Alarmingly, older adults were the most frequent victims, with losses for those over 65 rising by over 13.3 percent to $120 million in 2023. Text messages were the most commonly reported contact method, but scam calls led to the highest losses, totaling $116 million. Social media scams followed, with reported losses of $93.5 million, an increase of 16.5 percent from the previous year.

Dr Lowies explained that older people are attractive targets for scammers given their access to retirement savings and superannuation in addition to possibly owning substantial assets.

“Older people might also have less experience in the digital space and also less adaptive to new technology such as artificial intelligence and the threats these sorts of advancements can pose,” Dr Lowies said.

“We must also acknowledge that some of us might experience age-related impairments as we get older, and this can contribute to vulnerability in the digital space too.”

For those who want to stay one step ahead of scammers and protect their personal information, the National Anti-Scam Centre suggests the following precautionary measures to avoid falling victim to such malicious activity.

• Stop – don’t give money or personal information to anyone if you’re unsure. Say no, hang up and delete. If a scammer has taken your money or personal details, contact your bank or card provider to immediately report the scam and stop any transactions.
• Check – scammers pretend to be from organisations you know and trust – like myGov, your bank, the police or the government. If you’re unsure, call the official phone number of the organisation to check.
• Report – the more we talk, the less power they have. Report scams to scamwatch.gov.au