ACCC reports 84% spike in scam losses

The greatest monthly losses were recorded in December, with $43.2 million shed, while the higher number of scam reports (40,874) were received in August.

On a state-by-state basis, NSW residents incurred the greatest losses ($110 million), followed by Victorians ($74 million).

NSW also lodged the largest number of scam reports (92,117), again followed by Victoria (74,597).

Investment scams were responsible for the bulk of financial losses, while phishing attacks were the most largely reported by victims.

Top 10 Scams – Money lost 2021 VIEW ALL		Top 10 Scams – Number of Reports 2021
Investment	$177,184,295	Phishing	71,299
Dating and Romance	$56,175,428	Threats to life or arrest	32,425
False billing	$17,303,665	Identity theft	22,354
Remote access scams	$16,412,258	False billing	21,545
Threats to life or arrest	$11,077,551	Online shopping scams	20,694
Identity theft	$10,159,930	Remote access scams	15,697
Online shopping scams	$8,074,469	Hacking	15,141
Classified scams	$7,114,830	Investment scams	9,663
Phishing	$4,324,128	Classified scams	9,560
Hacking	$3,041,484	Prize and lottery scams	4,428

Reflecting on the data, Crispin Kerr, ANZ vice-president at cyber security company Proofpoint, said the spike is the “tip of the iceberg”.

“Based on the numbers for December, during the holiday season, people can become desensitised to receiving numerous advertising links for shopping deals and the like and may not think twice about opening a dangerous file or clicking a suspicious link,” Kerr said.

“The data shows scammers were extremely active in 2021 and we anticipate this will only increase as scammers continue to evolve and update their tactics.

“Malicious actors will always follow the money and we’ve seen that during the past year, SMS attacks have grown exponentially, because those actors discovered a trusting and captive audience ready to engage on the other end of the phone. It is critical for consumers to remain vigilant.”