The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) revealed that Australians lost more than $851 million to scams last year.
“Last year, scam victims reported the biggest losses we have seen, but worse, we expect the real losses will be even higher, as many people don’t report these scams,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
The ACCC said the lockdowns meant those who lost work were more vulnerable to government impersonation, investment and early access to super scams. Scammers are taking advantage of people suffering from the various crises since 2020.
Additionally, the ACCC said Victorians were more likely to experience loneliness, leading to an increase in puppy and romance scams.
Reports of scammers using Tinder as a contact mode increased from 73 to 174 incidences in 2020, with most scammers using the platform for romance scams. Scammers would use platforms like Tinder posing as romantic interests to bait people into scam investments.
The ACCC is now calling for tougher regulations governing digital platforms’ internal dispute resolution processes.
The ACCC also received more than 96,000 reports of ATO scams, with losses totalling $2.4 million.
While this reflects a decrease in the number of reports and number of those who lost money, the 457 people who did fall for the scams, fell hard.