Australians Experienced 34 Percent Increase in Scams in 2019

Australians reported 167,797 scams to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)-controlled Scamwatch in 2019, a 34 percent increase over the year prior. The financial impact in 2019 to Australians was just over $634 million (in Australian dollars). The greatest losses in 2019 by type of scam were: $132 million to business email compromise (BEC) scams, $126 million to investment scams, and $83 million lost to dating and romance scams. The most financially damaging BEC scams involved invoices between businesses, suppliers, or individuals being intercepted and amended with fraudulent banking details. The report showed businesses were mostly targeted by scammers impersonating senior managers, staff, and suppliers. Phishing was the most common method for scamming, with 25,168 reports. 513 of those reported resulted in a financial loss, valued at $1.5 million.