According to the ACCC’s Scamwatch statistics, Australians reported a total of $568.6 Million lost to scams in 2022. Which makes for big business for scammers, and a cause for concern for all Australians.
According to research by the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) (September 2022), 60% of Australians reported having personally been a victim of a scam or knew someone who had, and 57% of Australians reported becoming more concerned about scams over the last 12 months.
This is unsurprising given the constant flow of suspicious emails, texts, phone calls, and more that Australians are bombarded with.
CBA’s research shows that Australians receive roughly five scam calls, emails, or messages a week, equating to over 250 attempts a year.
Not to mention the recent rise in high-profile data breaches and cyberattacks that seem to have become a consistent theme in the media.
Like many Australians, if you’ve been caught up in one of these breaches, you might be left wondering what information was exposed and how this could be used.
Unfortunately, data breaches and scams often go hand in hand with scammers using the accessed information to target individuals.
Following the 2022 Optus data breach, the ACCC’s Scamwatch urgently warned Australians to be on the lookout for increased scam activity and to take steps to further protect themselves.
Unfortunately, there’s no shortage of ways fraudsters and scammers might attempt to get you to part with your hard-earned cash, from phishing for information to impersonation of family members i.e. “Hi Mum” texts to puppy scams, nothing seems to be off limits.
It’s important to always be on the lookout for anything suspicious and to make sure you’re taking steps to keep your money safe.
Here are some action steps that you can take to protect yourself today:
Before you click that link to “confirm” your personal details or open that attachment, STOP.
How legitimate does the message look and feel? If there are spelling errors in the email or the email/web address looks strange, it’s best to ignore.
You can always contact the business directly to ask if the contact is legitimate.
If any of your passwords are likely to make the top 10 most common passwords list, it’s time for a change.
Passwords for all online accounts should be strong and unique. It’s also best to avoid using the same password for multiple accounts.
When accessing your accounts online, there are a number of steps that can be taken to keep your information safe:
Multi-Factor Authentication requires a second verification process to be able to access an account. This is often an SMS/email code or through the use of an authenticator app.
Enabling this provides an extra hurdle for anyone trying to access your accounts.
It’s important to make sure you’re regularly checking your accounts and bank statements for any scam activity. If you see something suspicious, contact your bank straight away!
While it’s unlikely scammers will become a thing of the past, you can better secure your future by taking the necessary steps to protect yourself and your bank accounts. The steps outlined above are a great start to keeping your accounts safe.
If you’ve been scammed, or believe you might be at risk of being scammed, it’s important to take immediate action:
You can also check out ScamWatch for more information on scams and where you can go for further help.
The information contained on this website has been provided as general advice only. The contents have been prepared without taking account of your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before you make any decision regarding any information, strategies or products mentioned on this website, consult your own financial adviser to consider whether that is appropriate having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs.