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4. NHW SAFETY MATERIALS & MERCHANDISE

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NHW Green Polo Shirts,  Caps and Badges (For ACTIVE NHW Volunteers only for newsletter delivery and assisting at events)

5. Scam Reports

ACCC - 30 June 2022

Australians are losing more money to investment scams

Australians lost over $205 million to scams between 1 January and 1 May, a 166 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, according to new data from Scamwatch.

The true losses to scams are likely to be much higher, as our research shows that only around 13 per cent of people report their losses to Scamwatch.

The majority of losses over this period have been to investment scams with $158 million lost, an increase of 314 per cent compared to the same period last year.

While the reported losses have increased the number of reports has reduced slightly, indicating that on average people reported higher individual losses.

“We are seeing more money lost to investment scams and so are urging all Australians not to trust investment opportunities that seem too good to be true,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.

The majority of losses to investment scams involved crypto investments, with $113 million reported lost this year. Cryptocurrency is also the most common payment method for investment scams.

“Australians should be very wary of anyone asking them to invest in or transfer money using cryptocurrency, especially if it’s someone you have only met online. Many consumers are unfamiliar with the complexities of cryptocurrency and this can make them more vulnerable to scams,” Ms Rickard said.

Scamwatch has also seen an increase in imposter bond scams this year, with $10.9m reported lost.

Imposter bond scams usually impersonate real financial companies or banks and claim to offer government/Treasury bonds or fixed term deposits.

Scamwatch data also shows scam contact methods are changing with text message up 54 per cent between 1 January and 1 May this year, surpassing phone call as the most common contact mode.

“If you receive an unexpected text message or phone call from someone offering you an opportunity to invest, it is likely a scam and you should immediately hang up or delete the message,” Ms Rickard said.

Phone scams have almost halved, suggesting the telecommunications industry’s Reducing Scams Call Code 2020 that blocks incoming calls from scammers is having an impact.

Since the Code’s introduction telco providers have blocked over 549 million scam calls, limiting opportunities for criminals to scam Australians.

New rules to block scam text messages will also be introduced this year.

People aged 55 to 64 reported the highest total losses, $32 million between 1 January and 1 May and over 80 per cent of losses reported by this age group was lost to investment scams ($26m).

Background

The ACCC is currently taking action over alleged misleading conduct by Facebook parent company Meta for publishing scam celebrity crypto ads on Facebook.

The ACCC also refers investment scams to ASIC and in some cases the AFP, for investigation.

Investment scams

Investment scams involve promises of big payouts, quick money or guaranteed returns. Always be suspicious of any investment opportunities that promise a high return with little or no risk – if it seems too good to be true, it probably is – and is highly likely to be a scam.

Scam losses to culturally diverse communities, people with disability and Indigenous Australians almost doubled in 2021

6 July 2022

Scammers stole over $66 million last year from Indigenous Australians, people who identified as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), and people with disability, according to new data from the ACCC’s annual Targeting Scams report.  

“Scammers generally cast their nets very wide, but some specifically target groups such as Indigenous Australians and CALD communities,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.

“Unfortunately, we saw some vulnerable members of the community lose significantly more money to scams last year.”

In 2021, Scamwatch received 4,958 reports from Indigenous Australians, with $4.8 million in losses. This represents a 43 per cent increase in reports and 142 per cent increase in losses since 2020.

Younger Indigenous Australians lost more money than older Indigenous Australians, which is a reverse of the overall trend of financial losses to scams increasing with age. The most financially damaging scams for Indigenous communities were investment scams, followed by phishing scams and romance scams.

The report shows that scams impacting CALD communities made up five per cent of all reports to Scamwatch, and almost 13 per cent of the total losses. Members of CALD communities reported $42 million in losses, which is an 88 per cent increase compared to 2020.

The most financially damaging scams for CALD communities were investment scams, followed by romance scams and scams involving threats to life, arrest or other.

Members of CALD communities who reported a financial loss to Scamwatch on average lost $1,200, compared to an average loss of $845 for all people.

The main financial losses were incurred through investment scams in the form of ponzi scams and pyramid scheme apps such as Hope Business and Wonderful World. These scams impacted younger people in CALD communities more than any other group.

People from CALD communities were also over-represented in financial losses due to scams involving threats to life, arrest and other, and identity theft.

“The Australian Government will never threaten you with immediate arrest. Always stop to consider who you might be dealing with, and if you’re not sure if the call is legitimate, hang up and call the organisation directly using contact details you independently source,” Ms Rickard said.

“If you think scammers might have gained access to your personal information, contact your bank immediately.”

People who identified as having a disability made 15,387 reports to Scamwatch last year and lost more than $19.6 million to scams. This is a 104 per cent increase in reports and 102 per cent increase in financial losses compared to 2020.

“There was record amounts of scam disruption last year across the public and private sectors, but scammers are unscrupulous and clearly more needs to be done,” Ms Rickard said.    

“As vulnerable consumers can be difficult to reach through traditional channels, we also encourage the wider community to assist in sharing warnings about scams.”

The ACCC regularly engages in Indigenous outreach programs and shares scam warnings on the Your Rights Mob(link is external) Facebook page.

Consumers can follow @scamwatch_gov(link is external) on Twitter and subscribe to Scamwatch radar alerts.

The ACCC’s Little Black Book of Scams is available in ten languages to help the community understand and avoid scams.

More information on scams is available on the Scamwatch website, including how to make a report and where to get help.

Background

The ACCC-run Scamwatch aims to raise awareness about how to recognise, avoid and report scams. It also shares intelligence and works with government, law enforcement and the private sector to disrupt and prevent scams.

Reference to combined reports or losses include data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, other government agencies, and banks and financial institutions. Adjustments were made to avoid counting reports or losses multiple times.

The report otherwise uses Scamwatch data, which is based on phone and web reports made to Scamwatch between 1 January and 31 December 2021.