Targeting scams
April 2023
Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
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ACCC 04/23_23–18
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
Foreword
This report is the 14th annual Targeting Scams report. It provides insight into scams that impacted
Australians in 2022 and some of the activities by government, law enforcement, the private sector
and community to disrupt and prevent scams.
Despite these activities, losses to scams have increased signicantly in recent years. The combined
losses reported to Scamwatch; ReportCyber; the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, IDCARE,
ASIC and other government agencies was at least $3.1 billion in 2022. This is an 80% increase on
total losses recorded in 2021.
There are many statistics in this report. Behind the numbers are everyday Australians who
lost money, sometimes their life savings to scams. Some experience life changing impacts to
relationships and health. By responding to a fraud alert call they thought was their bank; clicking
on a link in a text message they thought was from a government agency; signing up to a promising
scheme to invest their retirement savings or transferring their property settlement funds into a bank
account listed in an email they thought was from their lawyer – these people never expected they
could lose everything.
The losses are increasing because scams are harder to spot, and anyone can be caught. Leveraging
emerging technology, scammers impersonate the phone numbers, email addresses and websites
of legitimate organisations. Their text messages can appear in the same conversation thread as
genuine messages. Fake ads, social media proles and reviews are easily, and cost effectively
deployed. This makes scams incredibly dicult to identify.
In 2022, more people reported losing money and the amount of money they lost increased, with
average losses up 54% to almost $20,000. These can be life-changing losses and for most people,
the process of recovery from a high loss scam is long and dicult. Many don’t report scams or seek
help at all.
More coordinated effort is required across government, the private sector and law enforcement to
combat scams. Businesses need to be vigilant and implement effective monitoring and intervention
processes to prevent scammers using their services and stop them when they do. Identity,
verication and communication processes need constant review as scammers constantly evolve.
We need to arm consumers with the tools to give them the best chance to identify scams, whilst
recognising that humans aren’t going to stop being human any time soon.
Many countries are facing similar challenges with escalating levels of fraud against individuals. There
are solutions in other jurisdictions that could mitigate some of the scam losses in Australia. The UK
bank initiative to match BSB and account number to the intended recipient is one example. The SMS
SenderID registry in Singapore is another. Measures such as these help make systems safer. We are
encouraged to see exploration of opportunities like these but there is more work to be done to ensure
that scammers do not nd the weakest links.
This year there is some reason to be optimistic. The government made a commitment in 2021 to
implement anti-scam measures and provided seed funding to the ACCC to establish a National Anti
Scam Centre. The Centre will bring together government, regulators, industry, and consumer groups
to leverage our collective expertise to share intelligence, disrupt scams, empower consumers, and
nd real solutions to reduce the losses to scams. It will aim to integrate not duplicate existing efforts
and build on them.
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
But it is going to take genuine effort, resources, and collaboration. There is a real opportunity for
business to lead the way by implementing meaningful change that has real and effective outcomes
for Australians. Minimum standards will also be required to ensure that gaps between institutions,
industries or regulators aren’t there to be exploited. Put simply, we need solutions that stop
scammers reaching consumers and makes it harder for them to get access to money from the bank
accounts of ordinary Australians.
I would like to thank all of the organisations that provided data for this report and those that have
collaborated throughout the year on many scam prevention and disruption initiatives. I’d also like to
thank all of the people who work hard to protect Australians from scams. While the gures in this
report are sobering, there are many Australians who have avoided scams or received assistance to
recover because of the perseverance and ongoing work of government, law enforcement, consumer
organisations, support services and the private sector throughout 2022.
Catriona Lowe
Deputy Chair, ACCC
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
Contents
Foreword iii
The role of Scamwatch 1
Notes on data in this report 2
Targeting scams 2022 3
How to protect yourself from scams 5
1. Scam activity in 2022 6
1.1 Key statistics 2022 6
1.2 The contact methods 6
1.3 The payment methods 6
1.4 The people who lost money 7
1.5 The businesses which lost money 7
1.6 The ght against scams 7
2. Combined data – the bigger picture 10
3. Scamwatch trends in 2022 11
3.1 Australians reported signicant losses to investment scams 11
3.2 Phishing was the most reported scam and caused signicant losses 13
3.3 Young people losing money to employment scams 17
3.4 Older Australians losing money to remote access scams 18
3.5 Reports to Scamwatch decrease 16.5% 19
4. The people reporting scams 20
4.1 The demographics 20
4.2 Scams affecting Indigenous Australians 22
4.3 Scams affecting culturally and linguistically diverse communities 23
4.4 Scams affecting people with disability 24
5. Law enforcement activity to combat scams 27
6. Glossary links 29
6.1 Scam terms and categories 29
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
The role of Scamwatch
Scamwatch (www.scamwatch.gov.au) is run by the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC). Established in 2002, its primary goal is to make Australia a harder target for
scammers. To achieve this, we raise awareness about how to recognise, avoid and report scams. We
also share intelligence and work with government, law enforcement and the private sector to disrupt
and prevent scams.
Many people who report to Scamwatch are not victims of scams. The reports of non-victims provide
useful intelligence that helps us warn the public about emerging scams. The 2021 Targeting Scams
Report was viewed 9,371 times and downloaded 4,939 times.
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
Notes on data in this report
The data in this report is from the calendar year 1 January to 31 December 2022. All case studies are
adjusted to protect the privacy of reporters.
Except where specied, all data is based on phone and web reports made to Scamwatch. Scamwatch
data may be adjusted throughout the year because of quality assurance or changes to categories.
While effort is made to verify high loss reports, reports are unveried.
Reference to combined reports or losses include data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, IDCARE,
the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the Australian Communications and
Media Authority (ACMA), the Australian Taxation Oce (ATO), Services Australia, and the Australian
Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX). This report was prepared earlier in the year than other years
which made it dicult for some organisations to contribute data. We added data from IDCARE and
used the AFCX data to represent the nancial sector. Combined loss data does not include some
banks and money remitters that were included in 2021. Some government agencies were also unable
to provide data. ReportCyber and ASIC data has been adjusted to remove many high loss reports.
Many people now pay scammers via cryptocurrency but we have not obtained scam loss data from
cryptocurrency exchanges. Given the challenges in attempting to de-duplicate the varied sources of
data, and in recognition of the fact that many losses have not been included, we have not adjusted the
data for duplication. We also note the ACCC’s previous research that shows that only 13% of scam
losses are reported to Scamwatch and over 30% of people do not report scam losses at all. As such
we are of the view that actual scam losses in 2022 are more likely to be well above the combined
losses of $3.1 billion.
We thank all contributing organisations for their participation and cooperation in the production of
this report.
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
Targeting scams 2022
Losses
239,237
reports to Scamwatch
$569 million
Amount reported lost to
Scamwatch
224% since 2020
76%
16.5%
2020
$176 m
2021
$324 m
2022
$569 m
Top contact methods
Average loss: $19,654
29%
Phone
63,821 reports
$141 million
reported lost
33%
Text message
79,835 reports
$28 million
reported lost
22%
Email
52,159 reports
$77 million
reported lost
6%
Internet
13,692 reports
$74 million
reported lost
6%
Social networking/
online forums
13,428 reports
$80 million
reported lost
268,622 reports in 2021
$3+ billion
Total combined losses reported to Scamwatch, ReportCyber,
IDCARE, Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX) and
government agencies.
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
Top scams by loss as reported to Scamwatch
Age
Investment scams
$377 million
1
Dating &
romance scams
$40 million
2
False billing
$24 million
3
Phising
$24 million
4
Remote
access scams
$21 million
5
Threats to life,
arrest or other
$13 million
6
Identity theft
$10 million
7
Jobs &
employment
scams
$9 million
8
Online shopping
scams
$9 million
9
Classified scams
$8 million
10
Reports
Losses
0.8%
5.6%
14.6%
17.6%
17.5%
17.4%
25.5%
0.1%
3.4%
12.1%
19.3%
18.6%
21.0%
26.4%
Under 18
Losses: $360,000
Reports: 1,550
18–24
Losses: $16 m
Reports: 10,508
25–34
Losses: $57 m
Reports: 27,281
35–44
Losses: $91 m
Reports: 32,735
45–54
Losses: $88 m
Reports: 32,639
55-64
Losses: $99 m
Reports: 32,367
65+
Losses: $120 m
Reports: 49,163
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
HOW TO PROTECT
YOURSELF FROM
SCAMS
STOP – Don’t give money or personal information to anyone if unsure.
Scammers will offer to help you or ask you to verify who you are. They will pretend to be
from organisations you know and trust like, Services Australia, police, a bank, government
or a fraud service.
THINK – Ask yourself could the message or call be fake?
Never click a link in a message. Only contact businesses or government using contact
information from their ocial website or through their secure apps. If you’re not sure say no,
hang up or delete.
PROTECT – Act quickly if something feels wrong.
Contact your bank if you notice some unusual activity or if a scammer gets your money or
information. Seek help from IDCARE and report to ReportCyber and Scamwatch.
Scamwatch
www.scamwatch.gov.au
IDCARE
1800 595 160
www.idcare.org
ReportCyber
www.cyber.gov.au
1. Beware of anyone offering you easy money through
investment or a job. Visit moneysmart.gov.au to avoid
investment scams.
2. Check invoices and bills before paying, by
independently calling the business on the publicly
listed number.
3. Add steps to show who you are when you log into
your online services. This could be a code sent to
your phone, a token, a secret question or your face
or ngerprint.
4. Never provide information, passwords, or codes over
the phone or via text to anyone. Contact government,
businesses, and banks through ocial channels.
5. Immediately report any suspicious activity to
your bank.
6. If you need crisis services or emotional support,
contact Beyondblue 1300 224 636 or Lifeline on
13 11 14.
What you can do to protect yourself today:
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
1. Scam activity in 2022
1.1 Keystatistics2022
Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, IDCARE, the Australian
Securities and Investment Commission, and other government agencies received a combined
total of over 500,000 reports, with reported losses of over $3.1 billion in 2022.
Investment scams caused the most nancial loss, with combined losses of $1.5 billion. This was
followed by remote access scams with $229 million lost, and payment redirection scams
1
with
$224 million lost.
Scamwatch received 239,237 reports, a 16.5% decrease from the 286,622 reports received
in 2021.
Financial losses reported to Scamwatch increased by 75.9% and totalled more than $569 million
in 2022.
28,980 people (12.1%) reported a nancial loss. 64,881 people (27.1%) reported loss of personal
information. Those who reported a loss to Scamwatch suffered an average loss of $19,654. This
was an increase of 54% from the average loss of $12,742 in 2021.
30% of victims do not report scams to anyone, so the actual losses are far higher. Only 13% of
victims report to Scamwatch.
1.2 Thecontactmethods
Text message surpassed phone call as the most reported contact method in 2022.
79,835 people reported receiving scam text messages, an increase of 18.8%.
Reports about scam calls decreased 55.9% to 63,821.
Scam calls resulted in the highest reported losses increasing by 40.6% to $141 million.
Social media was the next highest in terms of reported losses increasing by 43% to $80.2 million.
1.3 Thepaymentmethods
Bank transfer remains the most reported payment method with 13,098 reports totalling
$210.4 million. Losses by bank transfer increased 62.9%.
3,910 people reported cryptocurrency as the payment method, an increase of 162.4% with
$221.3 million
2
reported lost.
People who lost money via bank transfer were more likely to have been contacted by phone
or email.
People who lost money via cryptocurrency were more likely to have been contacted via social
networking or mobile app.
Reported losses where credit card was the payment method increased 40% to $12.1 million.
1 These scams are also known as business email compromise.
2 Removing signicant loss outliers, cryptocurrency losses increased 90.2% to $160.6 million.
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
1.4 Thepeoplewholostmoney
Older Australians continue to lose more money than other age groups. People aged 65 and
over made the most reports (49,163) and lost more money than any other age group with
$120.7 million reported lost (an increase of 47.4%).
People aged 35–44 reported the highest increase in reported losses up 90.7% to $91.2 million.
Men reported losses of $273 million (43.5% increase) while women reported losses of
$231.5 million (76.5% increase). Women made 120,418 reports and men made 112,975 reports.
Indigenous Australians made 1.63% of all reports (3,889) and reported $5.1 million in losses (an
increase of 5.3%). The average loss was $8,123 and the median loss was $754.
People from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities (CALD) made 11,418 reports and
accounted for 9.94% of total reported losses ($56.6 million). The median loss for CALD reporters
increased 20% to $1,435 and the average loss was $24,330.
People with disability made 16,473 reports with reported losses of $33.7 million (5.9% of all
losses). The median loss was $900 and the average loss was $18,024.
1.5 Thebusinesseswhichlostmoney
Businesses submitted 3,857 scam reports in 2022 with reported losses of $23.2 million.
Small and micro businesses
3
reported losses of $13.7 million across 2,019 reports.
Small and micro businesses were more likely to report losses to phone or email scams and the
payment method ($10.8m) was mostly bank transfer.
Businesses that reported losing the most money were in NSW ($6.5m) and Queensland ($6m).
1.6 Thefightagainstscams
Disruption and law enforcement
In 2022, the ACCC continued its work with other government agencies, law enforcement
(in Australia and overseas) to share intelligence, disrupt scams and raise awareness in
the community.
Scamwatch provided more than 116 disseminations of scam reports and intelligence on
high risk or current scam trends to law enforcement, government, and key private partners.
This intelligence assisted state and federal police to investigate and, in some instances,
prosecute scammers.
Scamwatch continued to share scam reports with the private sector. Reports where consent was
provided were shared with the nancial sector through the AFCX, Meta (Facebook), and Gumtree.
Each week Scamwatch also sent lists of alleged scammer phone numbers to the
telecommunications sector to inform their call and SMS blocking activities. Hundreds of millions
of calls and SMS were blocked by telecommunications providers in 2022.
3 Includes micro (0–4 staff) and small (5–19 staff).
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The ACCC and ASIC engaged in trial of a third party
4
cybercrime disruption service in July 2022.
The ACCC referred 1,757 web addresses which were analysed over the 21 days of the trial.
During this time, 381 were found to be malicious and were removed preventing further harm to
the community.
As a result of collaborative work by banks; law enforcement and regulators, banks were able to
distribute frozen scam account funds. The remediation enabled some of the over 15,000 victims
of the Hope Business scam to receive a portion of their nancial losses.
Section 5 includes examples of law enforcement activity to combat scams.
Scamwatch met regularly with representatives across the nance sector through a range of
forums. These forums are important for information sharing and for exploring initiatives to
prevent scams and often involved law enforcement and other government agencies.
Education and awareness
Scams Awareness Week 2022 took place from 7–11 November. With the support of over
350 partner organisations, the campaign encouraged people to learn ways to identify scams and
take the time to check whether an offer or contact is genuine before acting.
Campaign resources included videos, posters, social media, and web content that supported a
consistent message across all participating organisations. Over 8 days, the Scams Awareness
Week campaign had a potential audience reach of 82 million with 2,586 mentions in print, online,
TV and radio.
By the end of 2022, Scamwatch had 148,421 subscribers to its email alert service and published
13 media releases warning the public about scams.
The Scamwatch website had over 6.36 million page views in 2022, and the ACCC’s Little
Black Book of Scams was viewed 49,247 times and downloaded 28,508 times. We distributed
110,990 hard copies.
In 2022 the Scamwatch Twitter account (@Scamwatch_gov_au) posted 217 tweets and by the
end of 2022 had over 37,000 followers.
In July 2022, the ACCC released its 2021 Targeting Scams Report which was viewed 9,371 times
and downloaded 4,939 times. The report provides meaningful information to support law
enforcement, government, and community organisations to prioritise investigative, disruption and
education activities.
The ACCC’s Indigenous outreach team raised awareness about scams during visits to the
following communities: Belyuen; Nauiyu; Broome region; Knuckey Lagoon; Bagot; Jabiru and
Gunbalanya visits; Daly River; and the Mile community.
Scamwatch staff presented at many forums in 2022 and conducted education activities
and outreach.
Policy, regulation and advocacy
In October 2022, the government announced seed funding for the ACCC to scope and plan a new
National Anti-Scam Centre. Many organisations have contributed to workshops and meetings to
inform the planning of the new Centre.
4 Netcraft provide global cybercrime disruption services including taking down fraudulent or malicious websites. Netcraft
do not exercise any regulatory powers for takedown, they issues requests to webhosts to investigate alleged fraudulent
websites in relying on the terms and conditions of service.
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
On 11 November 2022, the ACCC released the fth interim report for the Digital Platforms
Services inquiry. The ACCC has recommended a range of new measures to address harms from
digital platforms to Australian consumers, small business and competition.
– The ACCC recommended targeted measures to protect consumer and business users of
digital platforms against scams, harmful apps and fake reviews and
– Minimum standards for digital platform dispute resolution processes and the ability for users
to escalate complaints to an independent ombuds.
In July 2022, the ACMA registered new rules to require telcos to identify, trace and block SMS
scams. Under the rules, telcos must also publish information to assist their customers to
proactively manage and report SMS scams, share information about scam messages with other
telcos and report identied scams to authorities.
In September and October, the ACCC participated in taskforces to protect consumers from
the consequences of the Optus and Medibank cyber-attacks. These attacks exposed the
personal information and identity credentials of millions of Australians. The ACCC produced
information to assist the public to avoid the scams that followed the events and contributed to the
development of a scheme to provide access to information that could help prevent the misuse of
the information.
– The government implemented data sharing arrangements pursuant to the
Telecommunications Regulations 2021 to enable Optus to share data with nancial services
entities who agreed to certain conditions outlined by the ACCC.
The consequences of the cyber-attack included risk of identity misuse. The data breaches
highlighted the signicance of the earlier work by the ACCC, Department of Home Affairs and
other organisations to improve the document verication service (DVS) and ability for people
to obtain new credentials if they were at risk of misuse by providing unique identiers on driver
licences. As a result of card numbers being provided on licences and new elds becoming
compulsory in the DVS in early September 2022, better protections were in place to protect
consumers from identity misuse.
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
2. Combined data – the
bigger picture
To better understand the impact of scam activity in Australia, the ACCC obtained scam data from the
AFCX
5
, ReportCyber, the ATO, ASIC, the ACMA, Services Australia and IDCARE.
The AFCX covered 6 of the 12 nancial institutions covered in previous reports. It does not include
data from superannuation rms or cryptocurrency platforms.
Some outlier high loss or unveriable data has been removed for some organisations
Table 2.1: Combined losses and reports
Organisation Reports Losses
Scamwatch 239,237 $569.5m
ReportCyber 71,092 $1.1b
AFCX (6 nancial institutions) 144,000 $1.1b
ATO 15,773 $78,990
ASIC 1,846 $100.7m
ACMA 6,868 N/A
IDCARE 21,201 $258m
Services Australia 7,267 N/A
Total 507,284 $3.15 billion
The combined losses reported to Scamwatch and these other organisations in 2022 was just over
$3.1 billion across over 500,000 reports. This represents a 79% increase in losses compared
to 2021.
The highest losses were reported for investment scams with $1.5 billion. This was followed by
$229 million reported lost to remote access scams and $224 million to payment redirection
scams. A glossary at the end of this report explains scam categories and other terms.
Table 2.2: Combined losses by category
Scam type Scamwatch ReportCyber AFCX ASIC IDCARE TOTAL
Investment $377.2m $474m $427m $94.1m $184.1m $1.5b
Remote access $21.7m $17.3m $165m $25m $229.2m
Payment redirection $24.8m $147m $53m $224.9m
Romance $40.5m $88.6m $64m $17m $210.2m
Phishing $24.6m $133m $157.6m
Other $80.5m $382.6m $265m $6.6m $32.4m $784m
5 The AFCX includes data for National Australia Bank (NAB), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Commonweath
Bank of Australia (CBA), Westpac, Bendigo Bank, and Macquarie Bank. Information about the AFCX is available here: https://
www.afcx.com.au/
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3. Scamwatch trends in 2022
3.1 Australiansreportedsignificantlossesto
investmentscams
Combined losses to investment scams in 2022 were over $1.5 billion. Scamwatch received over
9,360 reports with reported losses increasing 112.9% to over $377 million.
Investment scams made up more than 66% of all nancial losses reported to Scamwatch compared
to 55% in 2021.
People who had contact with the investment scammer by phone reported the highest losses ($141
million). There was a 32.4% increase in reports about investment scams on social media and a 43%
increase in reported losses ($80.2 million). The most common payment method was cryptocurrency
($137.6 million
6
) followed by bank transfer ($99 million).
According to Scamwatch data, the average investment scam victim is likely to be a man, aged
65 or over and living in NSW. He will meet the scammer on social media or respond to a scam
advertisement and will have contact by phone. He is likely to be in the scam for several months
and pay the scammer via cryptocurrency or bank transfer.
Trend 1 – Imposter bond scams
Imposter bond scams impersonate nancial service companies or banks offering low risk investment
products such as government bonds and xed term loans. These scams have become more
sophisticated and can result in people losing money even when they do their own research. The
scammers will demonstrate specialised nancial knowledge, provide convincing documents, fake
websites, and fake information on review platforms.
6 Adjusted to remove outliers.
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
u Case Study: $50,000 lost to imposter bond scam
After making an inquiry on a comparison website about Australian treasury bonds, Aleisha
received a phone call from a ‘Paul’ claiming to work for a well known nancial planning
rm. She conrmed that she was interested in purchasing a treasury bond and asked for a
product disclosure document.
Aleisha spoke with friends and did weeks of background reading on the rm. She did some
background checks on ASIC and other government websites. It all appeared legitimate.
Using the link Paul had sent her, she provided her identity documents and created an
account on the online investment platform. Aleisha wanted to check the BSB and Account
number so she visited the Big4 bank branch and they veried the account was registered
with them and was real.
Not long after Aleisha sent payment for her treasury bonds, she received an email saying
that the platform required maintenance. Within a fortnight Aleisha stopped receiving
communications related to her investment. Two weeks later they ceased to exist and she
saw a news article conrming it was a scam. Paul had scammed her and she had no way
of retrieving her $50,000.
Trend 2 – Initial public offering scams
An initial public offering (IPO) involves a company raising capital by offering shares to the public for
the rst time. Scammers have been impersonating Australian companies including banks to promote
offers that coincide with legitimate company listings such as Porsche, Stripe, and SpaceX. They do
not have any association with the companies.
Documentation provided by the scammers is very detailed and appears real.
u Case study: $26,000 lost to a Porsche IPO scam
Jing noticed an online advertisement for the Porsche IPO and registered his interest using
an online form.
A few days later Jing received a call from ‘Richard’. Richard said he was an advisor from
a well-known Australian investment advisory service. Richard sent Jing a link to his
company’s website and a copy of the Porsche IPO prospectus.
They spoke often and Richard sounded knowledgeable. Jing purchased shares using
the account details Richard provided and the money went to a Big4 bank account. He
received ocial looking documentation as evidence of the purchase and he decided to
make a second purchase. The second payment was to a different Big4 bank account and
this bank blocked the transfer. Jing was told it was a scam account. But he was unable to
recover the initial payment of $26,000.
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ACCC | Targeting scams | Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2022
Trend 3 – Relationship & romance baiting scams
Many investment scams will arise when a new online friend or romantic connection suggests that
they can help the victim invest. They may build the relationship for a long period of time before talking
about their success with investing. Once trust is established, the scammer will coach the victim to
invest their money and assist them to set up an account on a cryptocurrency platform.
In 2022, many high loss investment scams occurred in the context of a long-term friendship or
relationship that commenced on social media or a dating application.
Trend 4 – Money recovery services & scams
Another emerging trend related to investment scams is the increase in money recovery services.
Some of these are follow up scams that target people who have already lost money to a scam.
Others are businesses that often charge large amounts of money on the basis that they will get
money back for victims with most scam victims unable to recover funds.
u Case Study: Elderly woman pressured to pay $70,000 to money recovery service
Matilda alleged that her elderly mother was experiencing standover tactics by a money
recovery service.
Her mum, Silvia, was a self-funded retiree who lost all her retirement money (over
$3 million) in an investment scam. She reported it but couldn’t nd anyone to help her. She
found a business online that said they could recover the money.
She had to agree to a contract and pay a retainer being 5% of the total lost. Silvia then
started selling her assets so she could pay the retainer, but she could only pay $70,000.
The recovery service said she had to pay $80,000 before they would start investigating.
They threatened Silvia with legal action and she became scared they would take
her house.
Silvia asked Matilda to take out a loan against some land that she had so she could pay
the full $80,000. At this stage Matilda intervened and reported the money recovery service.
3.2 Phishingwasthemostreportedscamand
causedsignificantlosses
The most common category of scam reported to Scamwatch in 2022 was phishing. There was a
4.6% increase in reports to Scamwatch with 74,573 phishing scam reports received. Financial losses
increased 469% from the $4.3 million reported in 2021 to $24.6 million in 2022.
Most phishing scams were sent as text messages (38,481 reports). Text based phishing scams
also had the highest reported losses of $8.8 million. Phone based phishing scam reports decreased
by 46% to 16,790 but there was an increase in reported losses to $8.5 million. Email phishing scam
reports also increased 50.8% in 2022.
The payment method for the majority of phishing scam losses was bank transfer with $20.1 million
reported lost.
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According to Scamwatch data, the average phishing scam victim is likely to be a woman, aged
65 or over and living in NSW. She will receive a text message that impersonates her bank, her
child or a road toll company. The message will contain a link that may be malicious or deceives
her to provide personal information or will ask for a direct transfer of money. She will lose
money by bank transfer.
Trend 5 – Highly sophisticated impersonation scams
Most phishing scams impersonate known and trusted brands or government organisations. The
purpose of the scam is to trick the recipient into providing personal information such as banking
details or driver licence, or to transfer money.
Phishing scams have increased in quality and sophistication in recent years. They will be carefully
constructed to mirror the usual communications of the brand they are impersonating and make it
dicult for regular customers of that brand to identify as a scam.
Scamwatch received 14,603 reports about bank impersonations with more than $20 million reported
lost. More than 90 of these reporters individually lost between $40,000 and $800,000. These scams
impersonate well known bank brands and will often pretend to be from the cyber security or fraud
area of the bank. They are convincing when they also use a spoofed phone number of the real
organisation or use the alpha tag (SMS sender ID) of the bank. The message will appear in the same
chain as legitimate messages making it almost impossible for people to detect.
Scammers also regularly impersonated common brands such as Amazon, Gumtree, eBay, Australia
Post or PayPal to scare victims into believing there has been an ‘account hack’.
u Case Study: Bank impersonation scam – over $300,000 lost
Niamh received a text message from a scammer which used the NAB SMS Sender Id
and appeared in her regular NAB messages. It said she had pre-approval for a $6,000
loan – this alarmed her as she had not applied for a loan. She called the number in the
message believing she was speaking with NAB but it was a scammer, and questioned
whether the message was a scam. Lena, a scammer, said it wasn’t a scam and that her
account was compromised. Lena said she would send a text to Niamh via NAB SMS
with a reference number to prove it was NAB. Niamh received the message and was
more convinced that she was talking to her bank. Lena told her that a person was logged
into Niamh’s banking and that she needed to move quickly to transfer money to secure
accounts. Niamh moved $300,000 from her account but became uneasy. The scammers
told her it was a scam and at the end laughed and said to Niamh ‘We are in Brisbane, come
nd me’. She terminated the call and contacted the real NAB fraud department.
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u Case Study – Bank impersonation scam – over $30,000 lost
Mark received an SMS message from a scammer impersonating CBA that said an
irregular payment had been detected. A URL in the SMS had CBA in the address so he
thought it was genuine. He contacted the person who said he was from CBA Security. The
scammer said a payment had been made to JB HiFi for $70. Mark said he didn’t make it.
The scammer said someone was trying to take Mark’s money. He sent Mark a code which
he asked him to repeat several times to ensure reversal of the transactions. Mark noticed
the word ‘CRYPTO’ in the text and questioned whether this was genuine. The scammer
was able to convince Mark by referring to all the recent transactions on Mark’s account.
The scammer also told Mark to check the number he was calling from on the CBA website
and it matched. The scammer was using a spoofed number. But Mark ended the call. He
then discovered over $30,000 was taken from his account.
Impersonation scams have also started impersonating aspects of the PayID system. Scammers
will ask the victim to transfer money to a PayID phone number or email. Scammers will also send
fake text messages about payments made via PayID. For example, Your PayID Payment of $580 to
eBay has been paused subject to further checks. If you do not recognise this please contact us on XX
phone number.
u Case Study – Scammers impersonate bank and seek transfers to PayID
Arjun received a call from a scammer pretending to be Westpac and using the ocial
Westpac number. He was told his online account was compromised and that he needed
to transfer funds to a safe account. He was told to transfer the money to 2 PayID accounts
that used mobile numbers as the PayID. He believed it was real because of the real
Westpac phone number used by the scammer. He transferred almost $60,000.
u Case Study – Convincing bank scam leads to $10,000 loss
A scammer pretending to be ANZ called Sarah and said her account was compromised
by someone in Queensland. She was told to open a new account. The scammer had a
lot of her personal information including the rst 6 digits of her debit card and the type
of account. Sarah was wary about scams but the scammer sent 2 text message each
headed ANZ and appearing in the same chain as her real ANZ message. She also thought
it was real because the scammer had set up an account in her name to transfer her funds
to. She realised it was a scam after transferring $10,000 to the new account.
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Trend 6 – ‘Hi mum’ – scams impersonating family members
The emergence of the ‘Hi Mum’ scam in January was a new scam trend in 2022. It escalated in the
middle of 2022, defrauding many vulnerable Australians in a short period.
Scamwatch received 10,160 reports about the ‘Hi Mum’ scam in 2022 with a total of $7.3 million in
losses. The average loss was $5,742.
The scam involves a text message starting with the words, “Hi Mum” from a scammer claiming to
be the victim’s son or daughter. The messages refer to a lost phone or a new phone number and will
quickly ask for money for an urgent purpose. In some instances, victims were also asked to provide
photos of credit cards and identity documents.
While men were also recipients of ‘Hi Dad’ variations to the scam, 73% of victims reported to
Scamwatch were women. Over 90% of losses were reported by people aged 55 and over.
u Case study: Mum transfers $8,000 to scammer impersonating her son
Karlene received a text from someone she thought was her son, saying he had changed
his mobile provider and had a temporary new number. After several casual messages with
Karlene he asked for assistance to pay an After-pay invoice due that day.
The message stated that he couldn’t access his accounts because his new phone number
wasn’t linked yet. Karlene was provided enough information in the messages to make her
believe she was messaging her son.
Karlene made a payment of $4,000 via bank transfer, which her ‘son’ assured her he would
pay back the next day. They then asked for another payment of almost $4,000 which
Karlene transferred,
“It was when he asked me to make a 3rd transfer that I twigged that something was wrong.
I asked him to send me his date of birth and then the person said no and argued with me for
a while.”
With her suspicions realised, Karlene called her bank immediately to report the scam and
disputed the transactions.
Trend 7 – Unpaid road toll impersonation scam
Unpaid road toll scams use phishing techniques to impersonate road toll companies. They send
messages or emails claiming victims did not pay a road toll and include a hyperlink to pay the toll.
If victims provide their credit card details via the phishing sites, scammers will make unauthorized
transactions with their details.
In total, Scamwatch received 14,585 of these reports in 2022 with reported losses of $664,093.
The losses are mostly reported in states which have toll roads, NSW (33.41%), VIC (27.86%), and
QLD (21.06%).
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Figure 3.1:
u Case Study: $16,000 lost in LINKT scam
Daniel received a text from LINKT about an unpaid toll trip with the message “Please pay in
full to avoid late fees” which included a link. Daniel’s actual LINKT account was overdrawn
so he believed that the message was real and proceeded to click the link and enter his
credit card details. The next day he noticed 16 transactions of $1000 charged to his credit
card.
3.3 Youngpeoplelosingmoneyto
employmentscams
Trend 8 – Employment scams
Financial loss to job and employment scams increased by 259.4% to $9.6 million in 2022. Reports
decreased by 2% to 3,383. The average loss was $14,963 and the median loss was $3,150.
Most nancial losses were experienced by people who were contacted on social media ($3.2 million)
or via mobile applications like WhatsApp ($3.2 million). Most payments were made via cryptocurrency
($4.8 million) followed by bank transfer ($3.4 million).
The most nancially damaging employment scams occurred via social media, where victims were
told they could earn several hundred dollars for little effort while working from home.
Typically, these scams claim to be associated with legitimate companies, offering ‘task’ based
work requiring highly repetitive yet simple data entry or validation via an app or website, the need to
top up accounts via online trading platforms, and requests for more money to allow withdrawal of
large sums.
According to Scamwatch data, the average job scam victim is likely to be a young man or
woman, aged between 25 and 34 years old and living in NSW or Victoria. They may come
from a culturally and linguistically diverse community. They will usually receive a WhatsApp
message or meet the scammer on social media or a job platform. They will be encouraged to
communicate via WhatsApp. They are likely to be in the scam for a long period of time and pay
the scammer via cryptocurrency.
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u Case study: Job scam costs victim $65,000
With the cost of living increasing, Lucinda needed a second job. She was excited when
she received a WhatsApp message offering her a job with a great hourly rate where she
could work from home rating hotels online. She could work in her own time and would
receive one-on-one online training before starting the job.
She was told that as the popularity of the hotel rises, so too would her earnings. After
receiving her intensive training and completing her required quota of ratings, she
could see her potential earnings increase. The Hotel booking service platform required
her to inject cryptocurrency to complete the ratings but she received that back plus
a commission.
When it was time for her to withdraw the almost $65,000 in her crypto wallet however, she
received a letter stating that she would have to pay an additional 35% of the withdrawal
amount as a fee to release the funds.
“I was so stressed out that I told my family, and they rushed me to go to report it to
the police.”
Under the advice of her family, she has since ceased all contact with the group.
3.4 OlderAustralianslosingmoneytoremote
accessscams
Trend 9 – Remote access scams
Remote access scams continue to be a signicant problem in Australia. Combined reported losses
about remote access scams were $229 million in 2022.
Scamwatch received 11,792 reports about remote access scams (a decrease of 24.9%) with reported
losses increasing 32.6% to $21.7 million in 2022. The average loss was $17,328 and the median loss
was $5,000.
Almost all remote access scams commence with a phone call and most losses occur via bank
transfer ($15.5 million). People aged 65 and over reported losing the most money to these scams
with $9.2 million reported lost.
According to Scamwatch data, the average remote access scam victim is likely to be a woman
aged 65 or over, living in NSW. She will usually receive a phone call while at home and be
scared or tricked into providing remote access to her device or computer. The contact may
come after her legitimate enquiries with her ISP about problems with her NBN connection.
She may not be immediately aware that the scammer has accessed her bank accounts to do a
transfer.
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u Case study: remote access scam loss of over $30,000
Laura, 78 got a phone call from a ‘Paul’ asking if she had purchased anything from eBay.
She said she had never used eBay. Paul said hackers were using people’s accounts and
making purchases. Paul said eBay security was setting up a sting and they wanted her
help. Laura was aware of scams and was sceptical. Paul assured her it was real and said
they were working with the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
Paul asked her to download an app to track her computer to catch the hackers, which she
did. Over a couple of months Paul made her move her money from her bank account into
other accounts, some that used her name. She was told it was top secret and she couldn’t
tell the bank staff as they believed someone in the bank was involved. Eventually the bank
threatened Laura that if she didn’t tell them what was going on they would tell the police.
By this time all of her money was gone.
3.5 ReportstoScamwatchdecrease16.5%
Trend 10 – Reasons for decrease in reports in 2022
Reports to Scamwatch decreased by 16.5% in 2022, from the 286,622 received in 2021 to
239,237 in 2022. One of the biggest contributors to the decrease in reports was the reduction in
phone scam reports. In 2022 phone scam reports decreased 55.9% from 144,603 received in 2021 to
63,821 in 2022. This coincided with the implementation of the Reducing Scam Calls and SMS Code
which requires telecommunications providers to monitor and block scam calls. It also reected the
work undertaken by law enforcement and regulators here and internationally to stop the Flubot phone
scams which had led to signicant increases in phone scam reports in 2021.
Phone was the only contact method that decreased in 2022, all other contact methods increased
in reports.
The scam categories that had the most signicant decrease in reports were ‘Threats to life, arrest
or other’ which decreased 90.6% from 32,426 reports in 2021 to 3,036 in 2022 and ‘Ransomware &
malware’ which decreased 32.2% from 3,623 in 2021 to 2,457 in 2022.
There may also be some apathy in reporting due to the often-daily contact that Australians receive
from scammers, particularly via text message. Decreases in reporting may suggest that it is more
normal for Australians to receive contact from scammers, and they may be less likely to report them
if they have not fallen victim to a scam. Scamwatch continues to encourage people to report scams
that they see or receive as it helps organisations raise awareness so that people do not fall victim
to them.
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4. The people reporting scams
4.1 Thedemographics
People who report to Scamwatch differ in gender, age, location and ethnicity
7
. Some people report on
behalf of a relative and some report on behalf of a business or community organisation. Scamwatch
collects demographic data to help it and other agencies understand who is most impacted by
scams and provide warnings and information to people in an effective way. This section of the report
explores who reported and lost money (and often personal information) to scams in 2022.
Not everybody who reports a scam provides their age, gender, location or ethnicity, but those that do,
provide us with valuable insight into how scams impact different demographics.
Gender
In 2022, men reported losing more money than women. Men reported losses of $273 million and
women reported losses of $231.5 million. However, women made slightly more reports than men.
Table 4.1: Gender and scam reports and losses
Gender No. of reports Reports with loss Losses
Men 112,975 13,399 $273m
Women 120,418 15,330 $231.5m
Non-specied 5,844 260 $64.9m
Both men and women lost more money to investment scams than any other type of scam. While
men lost more money to investment scams women lost more money than men in all other top
loss categories.
Table 4.2: Top loss scams by gender
Gender Men Women
Investment scams $190.9m $123.6m
Romance scams $13.5m $27m
Phishing $11.3m $13.1m
False billing $10.8m $13.7m
Remote access $8.9m $12.7m
7 Scamwatch does not collect data about specic ethnicity. Reports can identify in the report form as a person who speaks a
language other than English.
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Age
In 2022, people aged 65 and over made the most reports to Scamwatch (49,163) and reported the
highest losses of $120.7 million. Losses reported by women increased 76.5% in 2022. Similar to 2021,
losses in 2022 generally increased with age with the exception of higher reported losses for people
aged 35–44.
Figure 4.1: Age Group
0 k
10 k
20 k
30 k
40 k
50 k
60 k
70 k
$0 m
$20 m
$40 m
$60 m
$80 m
$100 m
$120 m
$140 m
< 18 18–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 65 and Over N/A
2021 Losses 2022 Losses 2021 Reports 2022 Reports
Table 4.3: Number of Scamwatch reports and losses by age group – 2022
Age 2022 Reports 2022 Losses 2021 reports 2021 losses
>18 1,550 $361,976 1,984 $366,592
18–24 10,508 $16m 14,834 $12.7m
25–34 27, 281 $5 7.5 m 39,954 $40.3m
35–44 32,735 $91.2m 43,527 $ 47.8 m
45–54 36,639 $88.3m 38,893 $57.6m
55–64 32,367 $99.5m 37,64 4 $58.9m
65 and over 49,163 $120.7m 46,286 $81.9m
N/A 52,994 $95.6m 63,500 $23.8m
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4.2 ScamsaectingIndigenousAustralians
Scamwatch invites reporters to indicate whether they are Indigenous
8
when they complete a
webform. This information helps Scamwatch to identify the types of scams that may be impacting
Indigenous Australians and target our warnings to the relevant communities.
Financial losses reported by Indigenous Australians increased 5.3% to $5.1 million but reports
decreased 21.6% to 3,889. The average loss reported was $8,123 and the median loss was
$754 which represents up from the $650 reported in 2021.
The highest losses reported by Indigenous reporters were Investment scams ($2.5m), Dating &
romance scams ($764,000) and Jobs & employment scams ($278,000). Indigenous Australians
reported higher median losses ($1,075) to classied scams when compared with all reporters
($900 for all reporters).
Table 4.4: Top 5 scams with highest losses for Indigenous Australians
Scam type Losses % from 2021 Median loss
Investment $2.5m 63.1% $4,000
Romance $764,883 47.6% $2,100
Jobs & employment $278,14 4 108.3% $2,400
Identity theft $228,927 239.3% $1,500
Classied scams $227,686 15.4% $1,075
u Case study: Indigenous Australian loses over $30,000 to investment scam
Adam met Cindy on Tinder. Cindy mentioned her brother had helped her set up a protable
investment portfolio. She said her brother could help Adam make money too. He was
connected by a colleague of Cindy’s brother, Matt, who helped Adam set up accounts with
cryptocurrency exchanges.
Adam spoke with Matt daily, making trades, transferring more cryptocurrency, selling
different types of cryptocurrencies, and monitoring his prots.
After a month, the prots turned to large losses and Adam couldn’t get in contact with
Matt or Cindy. They had both blocked him on social media. Adam also couldn’t access his
account on the platform and the cryptocurrency exchange.
“I came across information about this happening to others and now I am reporting it. I can
show bank details from my transactions and have access to Binance who have told me they
can’t do anything but just to report it.”
8 Scamwatch reports may include reporters who identify as Indigenous in other countries.
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4.3 Scamsaectingculturallyandlinguistically
diversecommunities
People reporting to Scamwatch can identify as a person from a ‘non-English speaking background’
when lodging an online report. This is used as a proxy by Scamwatch to report on scams that impact
culturally and linguistically diverse communities (CALD communities). Scamwatch does not collect
data on the specic languages spoken or cultural backgrounds of reporters from a non-English
speaking background.
In 2022, people from CALD communities made up almost 5% of reports and almost 10% of reported
losses. They collectively made 11,418 reports (decrease of 18.8%) with $56.6 million in reported
losses (increase of 36.1%). The median loss for CALD consumers was $1,435 (up from the $1,200 in
2021) and the average loss was $24,330.
The highest losses for CALD communities were reported by people aged 45–54 and 35–44. Women
from CALD communities reported higher losses than men.
Compared to non-CALD reporters, CALD communities were more likely to experience scam losses
on social media with $17.5 million reported lost. The second highest contact method was phone call
with $11.1 million reported lost.
Table 4.5: Top 5 scams with highest losses for CALD communities
Scam type Losses % change from 2021 Median loss
Investment $29.7m 45.2% $13,000
Romance $6.6m -6.6% $4,800
Threats to life, arrest or other $6m 49.9% $34,166
Identity theft $2.9m -19.3% $1,252
Pyramid schemes $2.4m 386.1% $14,331
People from CALD communities were over-represented in the losses for some scam types,
accounting for:
7.8% of reports but 43.7% of losses to scams involving threats to life arrest or other
15.9% of reports but 32.7% of losses for pyramid scheme scams
6.0% of reports but 27.9% of losses for identity theft
4.4% of reports but 23% of losses for inheritance scams
8.4% of reports but 21.4% of losses for jobs & employment scams
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u Case study – Student loses all his money to threat based scam
“I told them I am a student, and I don’t have any other money.”
Yusuf received a call from a person stating they were from the ATO. The scammer said
there was money laundering using his tax le number and threatened him with arrest.
They offered to help Yusuf with this situation, but he would have to move all his money
from his existing accounts into holding accounts to allow the investigation to continue and
to protect his money.
When he disagreed, the caller said his accounts would be frozen and he would be arrested
and deported. They demanded Yusuf provide a picture with his passport near his face, and
a picture of it on a at surface, which he provided.
Yusuf moved his money into the account they provided. The caller then directed him to
pay more money for the cost of the ‘federal procedure’, but Yusuf had no money left. He
contacted the ATO soon after and was advised it was a scam.
4.4 Scamsaectingpeoplewithdisability
When people report to Scamwatch, they can indicate if they identify as a person with disability on the
report form. This helps Scamwatch identify scams that may be targeting or impacting people with
disability so that we can ensure our warnings are relevant and effective.
Scamwatch received 16,473 reports (6.8% of total reports) from people with disability, with nancial
losses of $33.7 million (5.9% of total losses) reported. Reports increased 7.1% and losses increased
71.2%. The median loss for people with disability was $900 and the average loss was $18,024. More
people with disability reported losing money in 2022 than in 2021.
People with disability who lost money to scams were more likely to be in Victoria, or Queensland.
The most common contact methods where people with disability lost money were phone ($8m) and
internet ($7.8m). People aged 45–54 lost the most with $11.8 million reported lost.
Unlike most other reporters, people with disability were more likely to specify ‘other payment’ as the
method of payment. $13.4 million was reported lost to other payment methods in 2022. Some people
with disability specied payment by taking actions such as transferring house ownership, or multiple
bank and cryptocurrency transfers, debt owing, superannuation fund, or paid by cheque.
Table 4.6: Top 5 scams with highest losses for reporters with disability
Scam type Losses % change from 2021 Median loss
Investment $18.7m 135.6% $10,000
Romance $4.6m 8% $2,000
Threats to life, arrest or other $4.2m 296.5% $1,912
Phishing $899,724 6 87.7% $3,100
Remote access scams $897,898 -22.8% $2,890
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The susceptibility to loss from ‘threats to life, arrest or other’ scams is common to both CALD
communities and people with disability, and a difference from the overall population’s losses to this
category for which it ranks sixth. These scams rely on a fear of authority or lack of familiarity with the
scam or with the processes of businesses or government. More research is required to understand
the vulnerability to these scams and how it could be addressed.
People with disability were over-represented in the losses for some scam types, making up:
11.2% of reports but 30.5% of losses for scams involving threats to life, arrest or other
7.2% of reports but 23.1% of losses for ransomware and malware
5.7% of reports but 14% of losses for mobile premium services scams.
u Case study – Young man loses all his money to sextortion scam
Ryan, 18 came across a woman who was posting her Snapchats publicly on Reddit. He
added her Snapchat account and the woman added him back. She asked Ryan to share a
video of himself “for fun” which Ryan did assuming it was harmless and just between the
2 of them.
The woman sent Ryan a Facebook friend request which he accepted. What Ryan didn’t
know was that the woman had captured the ‘compromising’ Snapchat video of him, and
she now had access to his friends and family on Facebook. The woman threatened Ryan
that if he didn’t send her money, she would share the video with all his Facebook contacts.
Ryan sent $1,000, over multiple payments until he had no more money to send.
The businesses losing money to scams
Scamwatch receives reports about scams from businesses and they are invited to indicate whether
they are large (over 200 staff); medium (20–199); small (5–19) of micro (0–4) or not to provide
the size.
The scam that impacts business the most is payment redirection, also known as business email
compromise. Combined losses to these scams from Scamwatch, ReportCyber and the AFCX were
$224 million.
Overall, Scamwatch received 3,857 reports from business with $23.2 million reported lost. This
represents a 73% increase on the $13.4 million reported last year. The most common contact method
was email (49.9%) resulting in 2,183 reports with $8.5 million reported lost.
Table 4.6: Losses and reports by business size
Business size by staff Reports Losses Losses % change from 2021 Median loss
Micro (0–4) 1,176 $8m 128.6% $3,350
Small (5–19) 843 $5.6m 60.9% $4,559
Medium (20–199) 634 $3.6m -13.5% $4,100
Large (over 200) 570 $980,000 132.8% $9,330
Size not provided 634 $4.8m 176% $2,767
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Among common business-related scams were payment redirection (business email compromise),
where scammers compromise the business email, either through hacking or by impersonating the
businesses email (by changing one letter in the email address). They alter invoices or requests for
payment by changing the bank account details. Many of these are reported to Scamwatch as false
billing scams.
While all business sectors are affected by these scams, historically the typical targets are high
transaction industries such as real estate conveyancing rms or the construction industry. In 2022,
however as international travel reopened post-COVID19 border closures the luxury travel industry was
also targeted.
Table 4.7: Top 5 scams by loss – business
Scam type Losses % change from 2021 Median loss
Investment $9.8m 94% 50,000
False billing $8.6m 1174% 6,000
Identity theft $1.2m 598% 2,922
Phishing $1.2m 627% 8,000
Remote access 854,000 843% 25,000
The highest number of reports were received from New South Wales businesses (34.5%) followed by
Queensland (19.3%) and Victoria (18.5%).
Queensland businesses reported the highest average loss ($54,636) followed by South Australia
($35,353) and New South Wales ($32,929). In terms of small businesses, those based in WA reported
losing the most money ($1.7m). For micro businesses those based in Queensland reported losing the
most ($2.2m)
u Case study – West Australian farmers lose $1 million
Farmers from Western Australia lost $1 million to scammers after their email account
was compromised.
Two emails containing invoices for payments, one for the sale of grain and the other for
agricultural machinery were fraudulently updated with bank account details that did not
belong to the farmers.
The email compromise was only identied after the farmers contacted the businesses to
follow up the missing payments.
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5. Law enforcement activity to
combat scams
Most scams are crimes of deception. State and federal police in Australia and overseas investigate
some scams and prosecute scammers in relevant jurisdictions.
Examples of actions from law enforcement in Australia include:
Commonwealth public ocials’ impersonation arrests
9
In April 2022, 2 Sydney men faced court after an Australian Federal Police led Taskforce
Vanguard investigated a fraud syndicate allegedly impersonating public ocials.
It was discovered that members of a fraud syndicate allegedly contacted the victim, claimed to be
Commonwealth public ocials and deceived the victim into providing personal information and
transferring funds from their bank account.
SMS spoong scam arrests
10
In August 2022, the AFP arrested a man, for his alleged role in a Sydney-based criminal syndicate
accused of stealing banking and identication details from thousands of Australians in a bid to
access their accounts.
Operation Lasion began in September 2021 to identify the criminals responsible for sending
hundreds of thousands of automated text messages that contained links to replica Australian
banking and telecommunication websites.
The SMS phishing scam is alleged to have started in 2018 to target customers of the
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Telstra, among others.
Fraud enabling technology arrests
11
In November 2022, 2 Victorians were charged following an international investigation into a
website selling fraud enabling technology responsible for more than $1,000,000 stolen from
Australian victims.
Operation Stonesh was launched in August 2022 after authorities in the United Kingdom began
an investigation into a website that offered a multitude of spoong services, for as little as
£20 British Pounds.
Once subscribed the site enabled users to make fraudulent robo-calls including sending
One-Time-Pins and other services designed to make the call seem legitimate to the victims.
9 https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/two-arrested-following-investigation-scammers-impersonating-afp-
ocers.
10 https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/second-man-charged-over-sms-phishing-scam.
11 https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/second-man-charged-over-sms-phishing-scam.
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International investment scam syndicate arrests
12
In December 2022, 4 Chinese nationals living in Sydney were charged as part of an investigation
into an organised criminal syndicate involved in a cyber-enabled investment scam that resulted in
more than US$100 million in losses world-wide.
The highly sophisticated scam involved the unlawful manipulation of legitimate electronic trading
platforms, normally licensed to foreign exchange brokers who then provide the software to
their clients.
The organised crime syndicate used a sophisticated mix of social engineering techniques,
including the use of dating sites, employment sites and messaging platforms to gain the victim’s
trust before mentioning investment opportunities.
Actions from international law enforcement include:
Business Email Compromise scam arrests
13
In January 2022, INTERPOL reported the arrest of 11 alleged members of a prolic cybercrime
network. Operation ‘Falcon II’ identied that the suspects were members of a network known for
Business Email Compromise scams which harmed thousands of companies globally.
Scam call centre arrests
14
A two-month worldwide crackdown (8 March – 8 May 2022) codenamed ‘First Light 2022’ on
social engineering fraud resulted in scammers identied globally, substantial criminal assets
seized, and new investigative leads triggered in every continent.
The operations saw 76 countries take part in an international clampdown raiding national call
centres suspected of telecommunications or scamming fraud, particularly telephone deception,
romance scams, e-mail deception, and connected nancial crime.
Transnational cybercrime arrests
15
In May 2022, the cybercrime unit of the Nigeria Police Force arrested a 37-year-old Nigerian man
in an international operation spanning 4 continents (Africa, Australia, Canada, and the United
States).The suspect is alleged to have run a transnational cybercrime syndicate that launched
mass phishing campaigns and business email compromise schemes targeting companies and
individual victims.
12 https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/four-men-charged-sydney-sophisticated-cyber-scam-world-wide-
losses.
13 https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2022/Nigerian-cybercrime-fraud-11-suspects-arrested-syndicate-
busted.
14 https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2022/Hundreds-arrested-and-millions-seized-in-global-INTERPOL-
operation-against-social-engineering-scams.
15 https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2022/Suspected-head-of-cybercrime-gang-arrested-in-Nigeria.
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6. Glossary links
6.1 Scamtermsandcategories
Business email compromise scams
Please refer to payment redirection scams below.
Classied scams
Scammers use online and paper based classieds and auction sites to advertise popular products
(even puppies) for sale at cheap prices. They will ask for payment up-front and often claim to
be overseas.
The scammer may try to gain victims’ trust with false but convincing documents and
elaborate stories.
Dating and romance scams
Scammers take advantage of people looking for love by pretending to be prospective partners, often
via dating websites, apps or social media. They play on emotional triggers to get victims to provide
money, gifts or personal details. Dating and romance scams can continue for years and they are
increasingly introducing investment scams. They cause devastating emotional and nancial damage.
Fake charity scams
Scammers impersonate genuine charities and ask for donations. These scams are particularly
prolic after public tragedies such as natural disasters and other events such as, for example, the
2020 bushres and the COVID-19 pandemic.
False billing scams
False billing scammers send invoices demanding payment for directory listings, advertising, domain
name renewals or oce supplies that were never ordered. They tend to target businesses over
individuals. These scams often take advantage of businesses’ limited resources and rely on them
paying the amount before realising the invoice is fake.
Hacking
Hacking occurs when a scammer uses technology to break into someone’s computer, mobile device
or network.
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Health and medical products
Health and medical product scams may sell victims healthcare products at low prices that they never
receive or make false promises about their products, such as medicines and treatments that will cure
you or have special healing properties.
Hope business/Wonderful world scams
In these scams, victims are encouraged to sign up for a ‘work from home’ job with the premise of
earning a signicant amount of money. The specics of the job vary but the scam always moves to
include the transfer of the victim’s own money to bank accounts specied by the scammers. The
scams often involve professional-seeming online support, live chats and social media discussion
forums with other people participating in the scheme. Many of the other users are in fact placed there
by the scammer.
In the Hope Business scam, victims thought they were purchasing items from online merchants
to increase their trac on online marketplaces but in fact were sending money directly to the
scammers’ bank accounts. Initially, victims would receive a full refund of the money they sent plus
a ‘commission’. Victims received referral bonuses for signing up friends and family members.
Scammers eventually stopped allowing participants to withdraw any funds and encouraged them to
send more money to allow funds withdrawal.
Identity theft
Identity theft is fraud that involves using someone else’s personal information to steal money or gain
other benets. Identity theft has become a signicant risk in most scams.
Inheritance and unexpected money scams
These scams offer victims the false promise of money via an inheritance or other unexpected
opportunity to claim a large sum of money in their name to trick them into parting with their money or
sharing their bank or credit card details.
Investment scams
Investment scammers offer a range of fake nancial opportunities and the promise of high returns
with low risk. These may include fake initial stock or coin offerings, brokerage services or an
investment in expensive software or online trading platforms. These scammers often use glossy
brochures and professional-looking websites to lure victims.
Jobs and employment scams
Jobs and employment scams trick victims into handing over money or personal information to
scammers while applying for a new job. Some iterations of this scam will offer a guarantee to make
fast money or a high-paying job for little effort.
Mobile premium services
Scammers will often create text message competitions to trick people into paying extremely high call
or text rates when replying to unsolicited text messages on mobiles.
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Online shopping scams
Online shopping scams involve scammers pretending to be legitimate online sellers, by using a fake
website or setting up a fake prole on a genuine website or social media platform.
Overpayment scams
Overpayment scams work by getting victims to refund a scammer who has sent them too much
money for an item they are selling, or an item they have purchased online and for which they have
purportedly been charged too much money. The victim later discovers the scammer never paid the
initial amount in the rst place.
Payment redirection scams
Note these scams are sometimes referred to as business email compromise scams.
These scams involve targeted phishing and hacking of a business. Scammers commonly send
emails to the business’ clients requesting payment to a fraudulent account, often by manipulating
legitimate invoices to include fraudulent account details. Scammers also impersonate senior
company managers requesting money transfers for a supposedly legitimate business purpose, or
employees requesting a change of account for salary payment.
Phishing
Phishing scams trick victims into giving out personal information such as bank account numbers,
passwords, credit card numbers and superannuation details. A common form of phishing involves
the impersonation of trusted organisations such as banks, telecommunications providers or
government departments. This can occur via emails, text messages or websites, or over the phone.
Ponzi scheme
Ponzi schemes are investment scams relying on referrals of new victims. Initially, participants who
have deposited money received promised prots or commissions on their investment and are able to
withdraw funds. Eventually the scammers stop allowing victims to withdraw funds.
Psychic and clairvoyant scams
Psychic and clairvoyant scams are designed to trick victims into giving away their money, usually
offering help in exchange for a fee. The help may come in the form of winning lottery numbers, a
lucky charm, the removal of a curse or jinx or details of secret wealth.
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Pyramid schemes
Pyramid schemes are illegal and risky get-rich-quick schemes. In a typical pyramid scheme, a
member pays to join. If the only returns from a scheme are entirely or substantially reliant on the
member convincing other people to join, then it is a pyramid scheme.
Ransomware and malware
Ransomware and malware involves a scammer placing harmful software onto a victim’s computer.
Malware can allow scammers to access computers to collect personal information or just damage
the computer. Often the malware will cause the computer to freeze or lock and scammers will
demand a payment to have it unlocked (ransomware). These scams can target both individuals
and businesses.
Rebate scams
Scammers contact a victim pretending to be from the government or a utility company, bank or other
well-known entity and claim the victim is owed money. However, scammers say an up-front fee must
be paid before the larger rebate can be provided.
Remote access scams
The scammer contacts their victim claiming that the victim’s computer is infected and that the
scammer needs remote access to x the problem. The scammer may try to convince the victim that
they need to purchase antivirus software to remove the infection or they may spin a complex story
claiming they are working with authorities and need to make transactions from the victim’s bank
account to track scammers.
Romance baiting
A scam involving a combination of a dating and romance scam with an investment scam. The
scammer initially contacts a victim via a dating app, then quickly moves the conversation to an
encrypted chat site. After a few weeks of developing a relationship, the scammer will begin asking
about the victim’s nances and encourage them to participate in an investment opportunity.
Spoong
Spoong, in scam terms, is the practice of disguising a scam communication (email, website or
phone number) to appear as though it came from a trusted source. Usually, scammers spoof
government agencies, banks or utility companies.
Threats to life, arrest or other/threat based scams
Threats to life, arrest or other scams involve scammers demanding that victims pay money they
supposedly owe, for example for a tax bill or because they have committed a crime, and making
threats against them if they do not cooperate.
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Travel, prizes and lottery scams
Travel, prizes and lottery scams are a combination of the previous categories of ‘travel prize scams’,
‘scratchie scams’ and ‘unexpected prize and lottery scams’. All of these categories involved attempts
to trick people into parting with their money to claim a free reward. These rewards come either from
a competition or lottery they had not entered, or through a winning freely provided scratchie for a
holiday or large sum, often sent via the mail.
For additional information tables on individual categories, states and, visit https://www.scamwatch.
gov.au/targeting-scams-report-data-appendix-2022/.
