ACCC Report: a third of scams go unreported

• Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) annual 2021 ‘Targeting Scams’ report released today.
• An estimated $2B lost to scams in 2021.
• ACCC says only 13% of victims report their loss to Scamwatch.

Scam losses grow to over $2 billion

In 2021 we continued to see record levels of scam activity in Australia. Nearly $1.8 billion in losses were reported to Scamwatch, ReportCyber, 12 financial organisations and other government agencies. When we take into account the fact that around one third of scam victims don’t report to anyone, it is clear that the real loss figure is well over $2 billion. We also know that the true cost of scams is far more than just financial – it leads to emotional stress and can have life changing consequences for many individuals, families, and businesses.

The largest combined losses in 2021 were:

• $701 million lost to investment scams
• $227 million lost to payment redirection scams
• $142 million lost to romance scams.

The most frequently complained about scams to Scamwatch in 2021 were:

• phishing & identity theft scams with over 93,000 complaints
• threats to life, arrest or other with over 32,000 complaints
• false billing with over 21,000 complaints
• online shopping scams with over 20,000 complaints.

As only about 13% of victims report to Scamwatch, it is clear that these numbers vastly understate the extent of these scams.

Download the full report

ACCCScamsScams Report 2021