Latest news with #NationalAnti-ScamCentre
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.
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.
The Guardian
18-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Crypto investment scammers exploit fake images of Penny Wong in social media ads
The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has been the subject of a spate of crypto investment scams on social media platforms including X, ahead of new legislation taking effect that could see platforms fined $50m for failing to act on such advertising. Wong's image has been featured in scam ads on platforms such as X in the past month, linking to an article that pretends to be a story and falsely claiming she had been jailed for speaking about a crypto investment during a TV interview. 'She didn't know the microphone was on – now her career is over!' the scam ad states. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The theme of the ad is similar to others that have featured the likes of Guy Sebastian, Sophie Monk and other public figures in the past few years, including a poorly edited picture of the subject bruised and in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. Guardian Australia understands the government has been reporting ads featuring its ministers as they are spotted. A spokesperson for the foreign affairs minister pointed to the government's scams prevention framework as part of the government's efforts to keep Australians safe online. 'Last week, the government legislated the scams prevention framework, which will make Australia the toughest target in the world for scammers,' the spokesperson said. X has been approached for comment. A spokesperson for the National Anti-Scams Centre would not comment on the specific ad but said the agency has a website-takedown service targeting such scams. 'The National Anti-Scam Centre is working with digital platforms to develop additional processes for scams disruption,' the spokesperson said. 'While there has been progress in establishing pathways to refer scams to major social media platforms for disruption, the National Anti-Scam Centre and key partners expect social media platforms to take greater responsibility for proactive monitoring, removal of scams and targeted in-platform warnings to users.' In 2024, there were nearly 1,900 reports of investment-related scams from social media in Australia, with losses reported at $45.5m. Google and Meta have implemented changes to their platforms to require organisations and individuals promoting financial products to verify themselves but it is unclear whether a similar process is required for X. Elon Musk is now heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) in the new Trump administration. Despite a public fight over online safety with Musk last year that generated global headlines, the Australian government has said little about him since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. Legislation establishing a new anti-scams framework passed the parliament last week that will require businesses, such as X, to take reasonable steps to prevent, detect and disrupt scams or face $50m in fines. The government last week said social media companies, telecommunications companies and banks would initially be designated under the framework. Social media companies will be expected to verify advertisers under the rules. It comes as the federal government has blocked attempts to determine how much taxpayer dollars are being spent on government advertising on X. Both the treasury and the finance department have blocked Guardian Australia freedom-of-information requests for the ad spend on X since Musk took over the platform in 2022. Finance collects ad spending data for all government agencies, while treasury had been running ads on X promoting the stage three tax cuts last year. Both departments claimed releasing the information would have an adverse effect on the government's ability to negotiate advertising rates. The decisions are being reviewed by the office of the Australian information commissioner.
