Australian Mutual Bank is proud to support Scams Awareness Week 2024 (26-30 August 2024), encouraging Australians to share their experiences with scams to help prevent others from falling victim.
In 2023, Australians lost $2.74 billion to scammers, a decrease of 13% from the previous year. However, reports to Scamwatch increased by 26.1%, indicating a growing willingness among Australians to report their encounters with scams. Sharing these experiences is crucial because the more we talk about scams, the less power scammers have.
As scams become increasingly sophisticated and technology is more widely used, anyone can fall victim at any time. That’s why it’s important for everyone to play a role in shutting down criminal activity. This year’s theme, "Share a Story, Stop a Scam," highlights the importance of sharing, speaking up, and reporting scams to help others recognise, avoid, and recover from them. We encourage you to share scam stories on your platforms to raise awareness and help protect the community.
Key statistics*
This Scams Awareness Week, Australians are being urged to speak up, share and report scams. Around 30% of people do not report the most serious scams. By talking to each other, we can make sure no one is alone in the fight against scams.
From 1 January to 30 June 2024, Scamwatch received a total of 143,106 reports. Of these total reports, 92.9% of people who reported to Scamwatch didn’t suffer a financial loss at all and still provided vital information to support for scam disruption activities and scam warnings.
Scamwatch data from 1 January - 30 June 2024 show losses of over $134 million (a 52.8% decrease from the first 6 months of 2023). Many people are getting better at identifying scams, but many people in our community are being impacted disproportionately:
- People aged 24 and under reported 3,653 scam reports and accounted for 2.3% of losses.
- People aged 55 and over reported 52,797 scam reports and accounted for 47.6% of losses.
- Small businesses (0-19 employees) reported 967 scam reports and accounted for 2.9% of losses.
- Reporters with English as a second language reported 6,586 scam reports and accounted for 14.8% of losses.
- Indigenous Australians reported 2,318 scam reports and accounted for 1.7% of losses.
- People with disability reported 11,365 scam reports and accounted for 6.0% of losses.
Approximately 2.5% of Australians have experienced a scam, while approximately 65% of Australians have been exposed to a scam.
How to identify and avoid scams
Members are urged to ‘Stop, check, report’:
- Stop - Don’t give money or personal information to anyone if unsure. Say no, hang up, delete. Scammers will offer to help you or ask you to verify who you are. They will pretend to be from organisations you know and trust like service providers, the police, your bank or government services.
- Check - Scammers pretend to be from organisations you know and trust – like myGov, your bank, the police or government. Ask yourself could the message or call be fake? Never click a link in a message. Only contact businesses or government using contact information that you find yourself from their official website or app. If you’re not sure, say ‘no’, hang up, delete or call the official phone number of the organisation to check.
- Report - The more we talk, the less power they have. Act quickly if something feels wrong. Contact your bank if you notice unusual activity or if a scammer gets your money or information. Seek help and report the scam to ReportCyber and Scamwatch. When you report scams, you help all Australians by building our defence against scams. See below for more information on how to report scams.
Reporting scams
- Australian Mutual Bank members can contact our Fraud Team by calling 13 61 91 or by emailing info@australianmutual.bank.
- You can help try to stop the scam or warn others by reporting the scam to the National Anti-Scam Centre via Scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam.
- By reporting scams to Scamwatch you can help to protect others and disrupt and stop scammers – 30% of the most serious scams currently go unreported.*
- Your reports help the National Anti-Scam Centre to identify the scams that are causing the most harm to Australians. Scam reports are used to understand how scammers work, who they harm and who they need to work with to disrupt and stop them.
- With consent, your scam report can be shared with industry and government partners to help disrupt scams, and with law enforcement partners both here and overseas to help investigate scammers and prevent further harm.
- 93% of people who report to Scamwatch don’t suffer a financial loss at all.* Help increase this number as every piece of information about scammers matters.
- You can make a report via Scamwatch anonymously or on behalf of another person.
- You can also make an official report to the police via cyber.gov.au/report.
- Report scams to the digital platform where they were encountered to assist with removal of the offending content.
Victim support
- Scammers want you to hide or deny your experiences. Reaching out to support services not only helps you to understand what happened but informs authorities about scammer activities so that they can make it harder for scams to occur.
- The National Anti-Scam Centre and support agencies have heard thousands of stories of scams. When you report your scam, the people who read your report understand how you are feeling. You are not alone.
- If a scammer has taken your money or personal details, contact your bank or card provider immediately to report the scam. Ask them to stop any transactions.
- IDCARE is Australia and New Zealand’s national identity and cyber support service. They can help you make a plan (for free) to limit the damage. Call them on 1800 595 160 or visit http://www.idcare.org/ to find out more.
- If a scam is causing you problems with debt, talk to a financial counsellor. Moneysmart provides a list of free and confidential services to help you get your finances back on track.
- Being scammed is a horrible experience, and it can happen to anyone. If you need someone to talk to, reach out to family and friends or you can contact Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636).
How to share your story
Post a photo, video, or text on your social media profiles about a time you avoided or encountered a scam, using the hashtag #ShareAScamStory.
Talk to someone you know about scams. Some ways that you can start the conversation include:
- Have I ever told you about the time I was manipulated into giving away my personal information? There was a scam that…
- A scammer almost stole my money when…
- I came across a scam message/email/fake website. I noticed some warning signs…
- Have you ever been scammed? What happened? How did you feel?
- Have you ever avoided a scam? How did you realise it was a scam? What were the signs?
For more information on how Australian Mutual Bank protects members, refer to our Security advice section or keep up to date with the latest scams and learn more about how to protect yourself.
Sources:
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/research-and-resources/scams-awareness-week-2024
*All statistics provided by Scamwatch
