Canberrans have lost half a million dollars more to scams in 2012 compared to the previous year amid growing fraud that is "just the tip of the iceberg".
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Fraudsters target victims with sophisticated technology and in the past year there has been a six-fold rise in cash lost to lottery and sweepstakes scams.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued its 2012 Targeting Scams report on Monday. It showed more than $93 million was reported lost to scams nationwide in 2012, a 9 per cent increase on 2011. Canberrans lost a total of $3.28 million, up more than $600,000 on the 2011 figure.
But ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said it was likely many more Australians were contacted by scammers than the 83,800 reported, and losses could range higher still.
“Reports of financial losses to the ACCC are just the tip of the iceberg as victims of scams are often too embarrassed to report their experience,” Ms Rickard said.
“Scammers continue to find sophisticated methods to deliver scams, taking advantage of new technologies and communication methods to try and slip under your radar.”
Advanced free or upfront payment fraud, where victims are asked to pay to access a share in a sum of money they are owed, was the primary method used by scammers, with more than $30 million reported lost across the country, and more than $1.6 million lost in the ACT alone – an increase of more than $600,000 on 2011.
Losses to lottery and sweepstakes scams also skyrocketed in Canberra over 2012, jumping from $61,026 reported lost in 2011 to $394,082 in 2012. The money came from a relatively small group of victims. Of 425 people who reported contact from lottery scammers, just 13 people said they actually lost money, and only five of those lost more than $10,000. The average loss across all victims in this category in Canberra was $30,314.
Nationally, dating scams proved the second-most lucrative category for scammers, as more than 2440 jilted lovers reported a tryst that quickly escalated to a financial disaster.
In Canberra, money lost to dating, romance and adult services fell more than $100,000 to $438,904 in 2012, but with 11 people reporting losses of more than $10,000, it caught the most victims with significant losses.
While the number of scams delivered online increased to 35 per cent, the telephone remained the delivery method of choice for scammers; combined voice and text message scams constituted 54 per cent of all reports.
“Scammers continue to find sophisticated methods to deliver scams, taking advantage of new technologies and communication methods to try and slip under your radar,” Ms Rickard said.
“Nowadays it can take just the click of a button to fall victim to a scam, so it is more important than ever that we practice safe techniques when communicating with others - whether online, on the phone, at one’s business or even at home.”
