HCAMag reports that scam incidents reached $119 million in the first quarter of 2025, despite a slight drop in overall reported cases. Scamwatch, the National Anti-Scam Centre, said reported losses from scams reached $118,993,148 in the first four months of 2025. This amount is 28% higher than last year’s figures, but less than the first quarter of 2023.
“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,” said Catriona Lowe, deputy chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which oversees the centre.
Highest-hitting scams in early 2025
Scamwatch reported that Australians lost $59 million to investment scams, which accounts for more than half of all reported scam losses in early 2025, despite a 1.4% decrease from 2024. The biggest increase in reported losses during the period was in Phishing scams, with $13.7 million in financial losses, up from $4.6 million early last year. Scams using social media also saw a significant 50% increase, with 3,300 reports totalling a loss of $23.4 million.
It appears that Australians aged 65 and over are the primary target for scams, with this age group incurring the highest total losses of any age group, totalling $33.1 million. However, younger Australians were most likely to report that they lost money.
“Scams are affecting Australians of all ages, often beginning with an unprompted or unexpected contact via social media and other digital platforms,” Lowe said. “Our approach to scam prevention is grounded in partnership. 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.”
Businesses urged to ‘stay alert’
Lowe urged Australians to report all incidents of suspicious spam activity, even if no money was lost, as it provides the centre with vital intelligence. “Businesses in all industries also need to stay alert to the risk of scams and adapt their systems to keep customers safe,” she added.
As part of a major crackdown, Scamwatch recently removed more than 29,000 social media accounts and 1,850 fake job ads, reducing the number of employment scams. A task force called fusion cell has been established to work with tech giants to eliminate accounts involved in scam activity in Australian Facebook groups.
“The work of our fusion cells has demonstrated that a piece of data that may be unremarkable on its own, when joined with other pieces of data, can form powerful intelligence,” Lowe said. “With data held across the ecosystem, sharing data with the National Anti-Scam Centre enables those vital connections to be made.”
