Australians lost $2.18 billion to scams last year, with investment scams accounting for the biggest share of those losses.<\/p>\n
More than $837 million was lost to investment scams nationwide, while South Australia alone reported losing $15.6 million.<\/p>\n
SA Police said new analysis showed investment fraud remained the most financially damaging type reported by the state\u2019s victims, despite the number of reported investment scams continuing to decline.<\/p>\n
In 2025-26, South Australians reported 361 scams accounting for more than $15 million, 38 per cent of all losses recorded by the state.<\/p>\n
The average reported investment scam loss was $46,000 for male victims and $64,000 for female victims, with one matter amounting to more than $2 million.<\/p>\n
South Australians aged over 65 were responsible for about 40 per cent of reported losses in the same year.<\/p>\n
Police described investment scams as\u00a0fraudulent schemes designed to convince victims to transfer money into what appears to be a legitimate investment opportunity, often with promises of high or guaranteed returns and little risk.<\/p>\n
Detective Chief Inspector Adrian Daly from the Financial and Cybercrime branch said the figures demonstrated that fewer reports did not necessarily mean less harm.<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestment scams continue to result in devastating losses for South Australians, with victims often losing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cScammers can spend significant time building trust and creating the impression that an investment is legitimate before encouraging victims to transfer increasingly large amounts of money.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said people should not be embarrassed to report being caught out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese offenders are highly manipulative and deliberately exploit people\u2019s trust, emotions and vulnerabilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The figures come at the start of Australia\u2019s Scam Awareness Week, running from August 24 to 28, which has prompted national banks, police and financial services to release data on losses and types.<\/p>\n
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reported annual scam losses exceeded $2 billion last year, according to the latest Targeting Scams Report.<\/p>\n
The ACCC said this was an increase of 7.8 per cent, compared to 2024.<\/p>\n
They said the top five scam types by loss were investment scams ($837.7 million), payment re-direction scams ($166.8 million), romance scams ($139.9 million), phishing scams ($97.6 million) and remote access scams ($69.9 million).<\/p>\n
In March, Australia joined other G7 countries to endorse a \u2018Call to Action to Combat Fraud\u2019 at the United Nations and Interpol Global Fraud Summit.<\/p>\n
ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said shared accountability is needed to tackle the harm caused by scams on and offshore.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs 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,\u201d Ms Lowe said.<\/p>\n
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) also posted a reminder on Monday to small business owners, saying four in five have been exposed to an attempted scam in the past year.<\/p>\n
ABA chief executive Simon Birmingham said this was a timely reminder that small businesses were firmly in the sights of scammers and that banks were working around the clock to protect their money.<\/p>\n
\u201cScammers target small businesses because they know owners and staff are flat out managing competing priorities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will use every trick in the book, from fake invoices to impersonation scams, to exploit a busy moment and steal your hard-earned cash.<\/p>\n
\u201cA quick 30-second phone call on a trusted number to double-check account details can stop a scammer dead in their tracks and save you thousands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year more than 481,000 Australians across the country reported a scam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australians lost $2.18 billion to scams last year, with investment scams accounting for the biggest share of 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