Latest news with #CatrionaLowe
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Scammers cheat Aussies out of millions in four months
Australians have lost at least $119 million to scams in the first four months of 2025, as phishing cons almost tripled in value. The consumer watchdog's National Anti-Scam Centre is calling on businesses to join forces to share data to combat increasingly sophisticated frauds. "Scams are affecting Australians of all ages, often beginning with an unprompted or unexpected contact via social media and other digital platforms," Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said. "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." While the number of overall scam reports in the first four months of 2025 fell by almost a quarter to 72,230, value of losses swelled to $119 million, Scamwatch data showed. Phishing scams - where criminals use trusted channels to trick people into revealing personal information - accounted for $13.7 million in losses, nearly tripling compared to $4.6 million in early 2024. The use of social media to target victims is on the rise, with the number of people reporting losses jumping by almost half to more than 3300, as total losses spiked by more than 30 per cent to $23.4 million. Phone scams are on the decline, falling 11 per cent compared to early 2024, but they still account for the biggest proportion of losses, with $25.8 million scuppered between January and the end of April. Australians aged 65 and older were impacted most by scams with losses totalling more than $33 million. "While the average and median losses per victim have slightly decreased, the rise in overall financial loss and the number of people being impacted is a reminder to stay alert," Ms Lowe said. "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." While a piece of data could seem unremarkable on its own, it could help form powerful intelligence when combined with other leads, Ms Lowe said. "With data held across the ecosystem, sharing data with the National Anti-Scam Centre enables those vital connections to be made," she said. The watchdog urged Australians never to give away personal information if uncertain and noted scammers would try to create a sense of urgency. The ACCC advised people to hang up the phone and call back organisations via a trusted number to verify the contact, and to call their bank immediately if money is lost. People worried after handing over personal information should call IDCARE on 1800 595 160. Sign in to access your portfolio
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Scammers cheat Aussies out of millions in four months
Australians have lost at least $119 million to scams in the first four months of 2025, as phishing cons almost tripled in value. The consumer watchdog's National Anti-Scam Centre is calling on businesses to join forces to share data to combat increasingly sophisticated frauds. "Scams are affecting Australians of all ages, often beginning with an unprompted or unexpected contact via social media and other digital platforms," Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said. "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." While the number of overall scam reports in the first four months of 2025 fell by almost a quarter to 72,230, value of losses swelled to $119 million, Scamwatch data showed. Phishing scams - where criminals use trusted channels to trick people into revealing personal information - accounted for $13.7 million in losses, nearly tripling compared to $4.6 million in early 2024. The use of social media to target victims is on the rise, with the number of people reporting losses jumping by almost half to more than 3300, as total losses spiked by more than 30 per cent to $23.4 million. Phone scams are on the decline, falling 11 per cent compared to early 2024, but they still account for the biggest proportion of losses, with $25.8 million scuppered between January and the end of April. Australians aged 65 and older were impacted most by scams with losses totalling more than $33 million. "While the average and median losses per victim have slightly decreased, the rise in overall financial loss and the number of people being impacted is a reminder to stay alert," Ms Lowe said. "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." While a piece of data could seem unremarkable on its own, it could help form powerful intelligence when combined with other leads, Ms Lowe said. "With data held across the ecosystem, sharing data with the National Anti-Scam Centre enables those vital connections to be made," she said. The watchdog urged Australians never to give away personal information if uncertain and noted scammers would try to create a sense of urgency. The ACCC advised people to hang up the phone and call back organisations via a trusted number to verify the contact, and to call their bank immediately if money is lost. People worried after handing over personal information should call IDCARE on 1800 595 160.
New York Post
25-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
New work from home scam stealing more than all other grifts: ‘Lost their life savings'
A scam targeting work-from-home job hunters has been found to cost Australians more than all other scam types combined. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released findings from a task force established to tackle job and employment scams – the fastest growing scam type of 2023. Advertisement Scamwatch reports for the 2024 calendar year, Australians lost $13.7 million to job and employment scams, with an average loss of $14,470. This is 5.1 percent higher than the average loss for all other scam types combined. Job scams – which often come in the form of fraudulent offers of employment designed to encourage victims into giving money, providing personal information, or working for free – often target people seeking additional income, and flexible or work-from-home opportunities. 3 Job scams often target people seeking additional income, and flexible or work-from-home opportunities. Australian Federal Police Advertisement The scams were found to have the greatest impact on people with low incomes, from culturally diverse communities, people living with disabilities and international students. The report found that fraudsters often impersonated reputable recruitment organizations such as Seek, LinkedIn and Adecco. Often, scammers message people with a job offer that includes a high income, working from home and little effort. They then attempt to acquire a victim's personal information or trick them into providing free labor. Advertisement 3 Australians lost $13.7 million to job and employment scams, with an average loss of $14,470, in 2024. Getty Images Another type of job scam is 'money mule' scams, where an innocent victim is recruited to launder money for a criminal organization. 'The impact of job scams can be devastating and is likely significantly underreported by victims,' ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe wrote in the report. 'Many job scam victims report that they have lost their life savings as well as money they have borrowed from family and friends. Advertisement 'In addition to these financial impacts, victims incur additional harm through the loss of personal information leading to an increased likelihood of future scam losses and identity crime. 'The cost of a victim's loss of trust in recruitment processes and loss of confidence in their ability to secure meaningful employment is hard to quantify.' In 2024, 78 percent of those who provided their age when reporting a job scam were under 44, and 18.8 percent of job scam victims who lost money self-reported English as their second language compared with 7.7 percent for other scam types. 3 The report found that fraudsters often impersonated reputable recruitment organizations such as Seek, LinkedIn and Adecco. Getty Images The National Anti-Scam Centre's Job Scam Fusion Cell brought together government, law enforcement and industry to attempt to combat the growing issue. The task force, which ran for six months from September 2024, led to the referral of 836 scammer cryptocurrency wallets to digital currency exchanges for analysis and investigation, leading to blocking and black-listing. Intelligence sharing led to Meta's removal of about 29,000 accounts engaged in job scams in Australian Facebook groups, and 1850 scam enablers such as websites and scam job advertisements, were referred for removal.
Epoch Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Australians Lose $13.7M to Fake Job Ads Amid Cost-of-Living Strain
A major crackdown has removed 29,000 scam accounts and 1,850 fake job ads, the National Anti-Scam Centre's new report revealed. Reported job scam losses jumped 151 percent from 2022 to 2023. In 2024 alone, Scamwatch logged over 3,000 reports, with $13.7 million in losses—around 5 percent higher than the average scam. The joint taskforce, active from September 2024 to March 2025, included police, government agencies, academics, and tech companies. It was launched in response to a spike in job scams targeting financially vulnerable Australians. 'Scammers are increasingly preying on people seeking relief from cost-of-living pressures,' said ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe. 'These scams disproportionately impact people on low incomes, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, international students, non-resident visa holders, people with caring responsibilities, and others with limited employment options.' Targeting Health, Crypto, and Government Impersonation The Taskforce partnered with Meta to remove thousands of scam accounts and referring 836 cryptocurrency wallets for investigation. Many were blocked or blacklisted. Nearly 2,000 scam-hosting websites and fraudulent job ads were also flagged for takedown. Related Stories 2/14/2025 1/23/2023 Authorities said scammers impersonated well-known Australian government departments, including Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs and APSJobs, to appear legitimate. Healthcare providers were another key target, with fake job offers used to harvest personal data or solicit upfront payments. To tackle it, the Anti-Scam Centre gave targeted advice to over 40 healthcare providers, helping eliminate most scams in that sector by March 2025. It also ran awareness campaigns and forums in universities to help vulnerable groups spot fake job ads. AFP Warns of Sophisticated Crime Networks The report follows a recent Australian Federal Police (AFP) operation that exposed a similar scam network. The AFP reported that in January 2025, over $4.2 million was lost to job scams. 'These job ads offer hope to people who are struggling, only to leave them worse off and in some cases entangled in serious criminal activity,' said AFP Commander Graeme Marshall. The AFP's cybercrime team found criminal groups offering fake 'side hustles' promising generous monthly incomes and commissions, but rarely deliver. Criminals are preying on Australians looking for flexible or remote work, offering so-called that turn out to be fraudulent. Fake ads offering quick cash—like '$1000 a month for 1-3 hours a day'—are designed to exploit financial desperation. Victims are often asked to invest upfront, sometimes receiving small payments to build trust, before being asked for more money to access 'better' tasks. Others are tricked into paying fake training or equipment fees or handing over sensitive information like bank and passport details—data later used to commit identity fraud and financial crimes.
West Australian
23-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Fast-growing scam targets WFH job hunters
A scam targeting work-from-home job hunters has been found to cost Australians more than all other scam types combined. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released findings from a taskforce established to tackle job and employment scams – the fastest growing scam type of 2023. Scamwatch reports for the 2024 calendar year, Australians lost $13.7m to job and employment scams, with an average loss of $14,470. This is 5.1 per cent higher than the average loss for all other scam types combined. Job scams – which often come in the form of fraudulent offers of employment designed to encourage victims into giving money, providing personal information, or working for free – often target people seeking additional income, and flexible or work-from-home opportunities. The scams were found to have the greatest impact on people with low incomes, from culturally diverse communities, people living with disabilities and international students. The report found that fraudsters often impersonated reputable recruitment organisations such as Seek, LinkedIn and Adecco. Often, scammers message people with a job offer that includes a high income, working from home and little effort. They then attempt to acquire a victim's personal information or trick them into providing free labour. Another type of job scam is 'money mule' scams, where an innocent victim is recruited to launder money for a criminal organisation. 'The impact of job scams can be devastating and is likely significantly underreported by victims,' ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe wrote in the report. 'Many job scam victims report that they have lost their life savings as well as money they have borrowed from family and friends 'In addition to these financial impacts, victims incur additional harm through the loss of personal information leading to an increased likelihood of future scam losses and identity crime. 'The cost of a victim's loss of trust in recruitment processes and loss of confidence in their ability to secure meaningful employment is hard to quantify.' In 2024, 78 per cent of those who provided their age when reporting a job scam were under 44, and 18.8 per cent of job scam victims who lost money self-reported English as their second language compared with 7.7 per cent for other scam types. The National Anti-Scam Centre's Job Scam Fusion Cell brought together government, law enforcement and industry to attempt to combat the growing issue. The taskforce, which ran for six months from September 2024, led to the referral of 836 scammer cryptocurrency wallets to digital currency exchanges for analysis and investigation, leading to blocking and black-listing. Intelligence sharing led to Meta's removal of about 29,000 accounts engaged in job scams in Australian Facebook groups, and 1850 scam enablers such as websites and scam job advertisements were referred for removal.
