Scams cost Australians $89 million in 2013, says Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Updated

Tens of thousands of Australians are being scammed each year, with dating and romance scams topping the list of financial losses for 2013, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

The latest figures from the consumer watchdog show a 10 per cent spike in scam reports last year, as well as an alarming trend in phishing and identity theft.

The ACCC's Targeting Scams Report says Australians lost $25 million to dating and romance scams.

But out of a total of 92,000 complaints received - amounting to losses of $89 million - just 2,777 related to dating and romance scams.

The most complained about scam was advance fee-upfront payment scams, where consumers are typically asked to make a payment with their credit card to access a bogus refund, prize or other kind of reward.

ACCC deputy chairwoman Delia Rickard says the figures are only a small snapshot of how much money people are losing to scams.

"We talk to other agencies, and work is being done so there will be a central repository of all reported scams in Australia but that's not in place just yet," she told the ABC.

"So we know it's significantly more than the $89 million that was reported to us."

She says dating and romance scams are very concerning.

"I think scammers are learning that by forming a personal relationship and really putting effort into knowing their victim and forming those trusting bonds, that this is the market for them," she said.

"This is where they can get the biggest pay off. The majority we're aware of are under fake profiles in online dating sites.

"We've done work with the dating and romance sites in terms of best practice guidelines on how they can kick the scammers off.

"Some sites seem to be better than others and we're about to review all of this work and do another round of work with those sites so that they're better at identifying scammers, keeping them away from the sites and also giving warnings to their members."

More than 10 per cent of scam victims reported losing more than $10,000.

Scams were most commonly reported by people in the 45-to-54 age category, and the number of people aged 65 years and over who reported being scammed nearly doubled to 18 per cent.

In line with a shift in recent years, 52 per cent of scams were delivered via phone and text message, with combined total financial losses of $29 million.

Ms Rickard says she is very concerned about the "huge increase" in phishing and personal identity theft.

"These can take all sorts of forms but usually it might be 'fill in this survey and you could win a $50 voucher' and you go to fill in the form and it will ask you for a range of private things with your name, age, address," she said.

"It might ask for your credit card details so they can deposit winnings into it, Medicare numbers, passport numbers.

"What scammers do is they then use this information to impersonate you to open all sorts of accounts, run up debts in your name, drain your bank account.

"So people really need to learn the importance of that personal information and not give it out unless they're absolutely clear about who they're dealing with and it's clear why that person will need that information."

In 2012, the ACCC received about 84,000 complaints with total losses to consumers of of $93 million.

The report also found that scammers continued to favour sending 'high-volume scams', which involve targeting a large number of victims with requests for small amounts of money.

The latest information about scams and tips for consumers can be found at www.scamwatch.gov.au

Do you know more? Email investigations@abc.net.au

Topics: law-crime-and-justice, consumer-protection, australia

First posted