Be wary of socials, calls, emails, text messages: $88.7M stolen in investment scams in 2023
It is only May, but already $88.7 million has been stolen from people through investment scams, by far the most popular form of theft.
A growing number of investment scams are robbing people of their life savings.
“We need to be doing more all the time, because you know what? The scammers are doing more.”
ScamWatch reveals there have been 2275 reports to authorities, with reports of financial losses in nearly half (45.8%) of cases.
Investment scams are the highest loss category recorded by the industry watchdog, which is a growing concern given that true losses to scams are likely to be much higher as scammers become increasingly sophisticated.
New technology to lure and deceive victims is evolving all the time, and a growing number of Australians are losing substantial sums and even their life savings.
Authorities warn that impostor bond scams are on the rise. These usually impersonate a real financial company or bank and claim to offer government bonds or fixed term deposits.
“This includes everything from impersonating official phone numbers, email addresses and websites of legitimate organisations to scam texts that appear in the same conversation thread as genuine messages. This means now more than ever, anyone can fall victim to a scam,” said Catriona.
Federal Government allocated $87 million in the May budget for a new National Anti-Scam Centre to be based within the ACCC, as well as take-down functions for phishing websites and others that promote investment scams.
Investment scams rely on people making their own decision to transfer money to another person.
Don’t ever give your personal or financial information in response to a request that you didn’t expect. Honest organisations won’t call, email, or text to ask for your personal information, like your Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers.
