Scam Losses in Australia Declined by 26% in 2024, Reports National Anti-Scam Centre

The Australian National Anti-Scam Centre’s latest Targeting Scams Report revealed a significant reduction in reported scam losses for 2024. According to the combined data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, IDCARE, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), scam losses fell by 25.9% to $2 billion in 2024. The number of scam reports also dropped by 17.8% to 494,732 in 2024 compared to 601,803 in 2023.

“While we are encouraged by the drop in reported financial losses, we acknowledge scammers are sophisticated and highly motivated criminals. We need to remain vigilant and pivot our defences to maintain this downward trajectory,” Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said.

The report highlights that the top five scam types—investment, romance, payment redirection, remote access, and phishing scams—accounted for over 70% of total combined losses. Investment scams resulted in the highest losses, with $945 million reported in 2024, marking a 27.3% decline from the $1.3 billion reported in 2023. The decline is attributed to the work of government and stakeholders, including initiatives such as the investment scam fusion cell.

“We continue to be concerned about the high individual losses and emotional impact of scams. Scammers often make contact on social media and groom their victims over long periods of time. We urge Australians to never take investment advice or give money to people they have only met online,” Ms Lowe said.

In 2024, the National Anti-Scam Centre referred over 8,000 URLs for takedown. Among these, 6,000 URLs were directed to the National Anti-Scam Centre takedown service, resulting in a 92% removal success rate and preventing an estimated $36 million in losses. Over 2,000 investment-related scam URLs were forwarded to ASIC, while 10,355 suspected Facebook scam URLs were referred to Meta for further investigation.

The report also provides insights from Scamwatch, which received 249,448 scam reports in 2024, a 17.3% decrease compared to 2023. Social media emerged as the most reported contact method leading to financial loss, with 7,724 reports totaling $69.5 million in losses. However, phone scams accounted for the highest overall losses by contact method, with $107.2 million reported across 2,179 reporters.

Bank transfers remained the payment method for the highest overall losses, with a reported $141.7 million loss to Scamwatch in 2024. Individuals aged 65 and over continued to report the highest losses of any age group, amounting to $99.6 million in 2024, a 17.6% reduction from 2023. Small businesses also saw a notable decline in losses, with reported amounts falling 24% to $13.1 million.