The National Anti-Scam Centre in Australia recorded a increase in scams reported and financial losses in the first half of 2025. They are currently working with other agencies to help boost awareness.
Reported losses in H1 rose 26 per cent year-on-year to AUD174.8 million ($113.6 million), while reports involving losses jumped 40.5 per cent.
The average reported loss was AUD12,212, down about 10 per cent from a year earlier.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deputy chair Catriona Lowe explained technology is helping scammers reach more people than ever before and “we see scams becoming more sophisticated and harder for people to detect”.
She added scammers are increasingly targeting people on websites and social media, knowing they are spending more time and money online.
Losses from phishing scams totalled AUD19.5 million in the six-month period, driven in part by a rise in cryptocurrency impersonation scams, with 14,235 reports, or 13 per cent of those reported, involving losses to crypto scams, the centre wrote.
The National Anti-Scam Centre credited increased awareness of scam warning signs and the availability of educational resources on job scams for the rise in reports during the first half.
It highlighted the importance of coordinated action, including intelligence sharing, to disrupt scam networks.
Source: Mobile World Live
Image Credit: Stock Image
