Australia’s Scam Losses Hit $2 Billion in 2025

The most common types of scams were investment scams, payment re-direction scams, romance scams, phishing scams and remote access scams.

People take part in the "Gen AI hackathon for public good" program in Paris, France, on Feb. 6, 2025. Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

Australia’s consumer watchdog has revealed that Australians lost more than $2 billion (US$1.37 billion) to scams last year.

Citing data from the latest Targeting Scams Report (pdf), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said authorities received 481,523 scam reports in 2025.

Of these, 274,577 involved financial losses totaling $2.18 billion, up 7.8 percent from 2024 but down 29.7 percent from the 2022 peak of $3.1 billion.

The most common types of scams were investment scams, payment re-direction scams, romance scams, phishing scams and remote access scams, which together accounted for 60 percent of total losses.

Investment scams typically promise high or guaranteed returns to lure victims into sending money, while payment redirection scams involve criminals impersonating a trusted business or contact to trick people into transferring funds to a fraudulent account.

Romance scams see offenders build online relationships to gain trust before asking for money, while phishing scams use fake emails or messages to steal personal or financial information.

Remote access scams involve scammers convincing victims to grant access to their devices, allowing them to take control and access sensitive data.

ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said scams often evolved quickly to continue tricking victims.

“As Australia and indeed the world faces increasing sophistication in scam activity through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the industrialisation of criminal syndicates through scam compounds, it is clear more needs to be done, quickly and at scale,” she said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Australia joined other G7 countries to endorse a Call to Action to Combat Fraud at a global fraud summit, where more than 100 organisations supported a Public Private Partnership Framework to enhance global cooperation on scams.

“It’s also important to note that the actions demonstrated in the report are made possible because Australians took the time to share their experiences,” Lowe said.

“Without people speaking up, we simply wouldn’t have the insights needed to track and disrupt scam activity.

“We encourage people to report suspicious activity so we can continue improving our understanding and response to scams.”

The warning comes just weeks after police alerted multicultural communities in Sydney to fraudsters targeting migrants of Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian backgrounds.

Authorities said criminals impersonated embassy officers from these countries and threatened migrants with deportation or extradition unless they paid money.

The Vietnamese consulate in Sydney said the behaviour, dubbed authority scamming, was often the work of overseas syndicates that were hard to track down.

Tips for Avoiding Getting Scammed

The ACCC advised people not to rush to make decisions about money or sharing personal details when contacted by strangers as scammers will create a sense of urgency to pressure victims into acting quickly.

“Say no, hang up, or delete suspicious messages; take time to think before responding to unexpected requests; don’t let anyone pressure you into immediate action; trust your instincts if something feels wrong,” it said.

In cases of impersonation, a simple check can be done by calling the person or organisation on their official number listed online to verify identity.

Other ACCC’s suggestions include contacting the bank immediately if a person thinks they may have paid money to a scam, and monitoring bank statements for any unusual activity.

To report a scam, visit the websites of Scamwatch and the Australian Signals Directorate.