Login
iscover
Share this article on:
Powered by
MOMENTUM
MEDIA
Powered by MOMENTUMMEDIA
The National Anti-scam Centre has reported a drop in reported scams, but an increase in losses of more than 25 per cent.
Australians reported 72,230 scams to Scamwatch in the first three months of 2025, an encouraging decrease of 24 per cent compared to the same period last year.
However, while that news appears to be good – many Australians still do not report scams – the monetary losses to scammers have increased by an alarming 28 per cent to $118,993,148.
There is a silver lining, however, as this figure is still well below the losses reported in the same period in 2023, when Australians lost $192.3 million.
Phishing was the key driver of one of the biggest increases in reported losses for the period. Scammers impersonating government agencies and banks got away with $13.7 million in reported losses in the period, more than doubling the $4.6 million lost in the same period in 2024.
Reported social media scams also rose by almost 50 per cent, and overall losses to such scams rose by 30 per cent to $23.4 million. Phone scams appear to be becoming less common, with an 11 per cent drop in reporting, but despite that, losses continue to mount. In the first four months of the year, $25.8 million was lost to phone scams.
“Scams are affecting Australians of all ages, often beginning with an unprompted or unexpected contact via social media and other digital platforms,” ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said in a 2 June statement.
“Our approach to scam prevention is grounded in partnership. Sharing information is a key step towards improving community safety – organisations, such as banks, digital platforms, and telecommunication companies, can help disrupt scams faster and reduce the harm they cause.”
“The work of our fusion cells has demonstrated that a piece of data that may be unremarkable on its own, when joined with other pieces of data, can form powerful intelligence. With data held across the ecosystem, sharing data with the National Anti-Scam Centre enables those vital connections to be made.”
Lowe said she encourages all Australians to report any scam activity, particularly if they’ve fallen victim to one. However, all reporting matters.
“We encourage all Australians to report suspicious scam activity, even if no money is lost, as you can provide us with vital intelligence, and talk to friends and family to help spread awareness,” Lowe said.
“Businesses in all industries also need to stay alert to the risk of scams and adapt their systems to keep customers safe.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
Be the first to hear the latest developments in the cyber industry.
