Australians have lost over $8.8 million to threatening scams so far this year, and young people are reporting the highest losses, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The Commission said threat-based scammers often pretended to be from Government Departments and relied on fear, intimidation and people’s instinct to comply with authority.
“These scams are mainly phone-based and impersonate various officials, such as police, ATO officers or government investigators,” the ACCC said.
“People aged 24 and under reported losing more than $4.1 million to threat-based scams and women reported losses three times higher than men,” it said.
Deputy Chair of the ACCC, Delia Rickard said it was extremely concerning that young people were being so severely emotionally and financially impacted by threat-based scams.
“These losses can be devastating and they can also lead to a loss of trust in authority, meaning victims of threat-based scams may be less likely to seek help or advice from legitimate agencies in the future,” Ms Rickard said.
“So far this year Scamwatch has received over 18,000 reports of these scams, an increase of 40 per cent compared to reports across all of 2019,” she said.
She said Chinese authority scams comprised 74 per cent of all losses to threat based scams this year, over $6.5 million.
“Threat-based scams disproportionately impact people with English as a second language, including foreign students, who may not fully understand Australian law,” she said.
“Victims will often provide personal information to scammers, as they believe they are dealing with a Government Agency, and this can lead to identity theft or falling victim to further scams.”
Ms Rickard said Scamwatch had recorded an increase in robo-calls impersonating Government Agencies, such as the Department of Home Affairs or Services Australia, which claimed the victim was under investigation and must ‘Dial One’ to speak to an investigator.
“Government Departments will never send pre-recorded messages to your phone or threaten you with immediate arrest,” she said.
“If you’re not sure whether a call is legitimate, hang up and call the organisation directly by finding their details through an independent search,” Ms Rickard said.
