During 2009, losses reported to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission through scams totalled almost $70 million, ACCC deputy chair Peter Kell said today when launching Targeting scams - Report of the ACCC on scam activity 2009.
"Scams continue to make up a large proportion of total complaints that the ACCC receives and more than 20,000 scam reports were made to the ACCC in 2009 - a 16 per cent increase compared with 2008," Mr Kell said.
"Realistically, this figure is likely to be the tip of the iceberg – given people can be embarrassed about reporting that they have fallen victim to scams and lost money in the process."
Online scams are the focus for the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce's 2010 Fraud Week campaign. The campaign, Online Offensive—Fighting Fraud Online runs from 1-7 March.
The ACCC has seen very significant increases in reporting of certain types of scams.
"The ACCC recorded an increase of over 100 per cent in reports about online shopping scams during 2009, compared to 2008," Mr Kell said.
Last year also saw large increases in the reporting of false billing scams and banking and online scams – up nearly 60 and 40 per cent respectively in 2009.
"More than 54 per cent of the scam reports received by the ACCC concerned mass marketed advance fee fraud, making this the most complained about scam category in 2009," Mr Kell said.
This scam category includes advance fee / up-front payment (Nigerian style), dating and romance, lottery and sweepstakes, and unexpected prize scams.
The report notes that the dominance of online scams. "Nearly 70 per cent of consumers that contacted the ACCC about scams during 2009 said they were contacted by scammers via the internet," Mr Kell said.
According to the new ACCC report, scammers continue to target individuals regardless of age, gender, education or income level.
The report also highlights the work undertaken jointly by the ACCC, other regulators, law enforcement agencies and private businesses under the banner of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce. These agencies and businesses co-operate to disrupt scams and educate consumers about the dangers and how they can protect themselves.
"The campaign focuses on raising awareness of online scams - from mass-marketed email phishing scams to complex identity theft scams targeting users of social networking websites," Mr Kell said, who is also Chairman of the Taskforce, which involves agencies in Australia and overseas.
For more information about the Report of the ACCC on scam activity 2009, the Taskforce's Online Offensive, or to report a scam visit www.scamwatch.gov.au or call 1300 795 995.