Scammers took more than $2 billion from Australians in 2025, and their methods keep getting more convincing. Here’s how the most common scams work, the warning signs, and what to do if you’re caught.
Scams are designed to trick people into handing over money or personal information. They’ve become more sophisticated, using fake websites, spoofed phone numbers, social media ads and even artificial intelligence to seem convincing.
According to the National Anti-Scam Centre, Australians reported losing $2.18 billion to scams in 2025, across more than 480,000 reports. Losses were down from a peak of more than $3 billion in 2022, but rose again in 2025.
The most common scams
Investment scams cause the biggest losses, with more than $800 million reported lost in 2025. They promise high returns from crypto, shares or trading platforms, often promoted through fake celebrity endorsements, social media ads or people met online. Victims may see fake profits on a website before being asked to pay more to withdraw their money.
Impersonation scams involve criminals pretending to be from a bank, government agency, phone company or the police. They often say there’s a problem with your account and urge you to move money to a “safe” account.
Payment redirection scams target businesses and home buyers, with criminals hacking or faking emails to change bank details on invoices.
Romance scams build fake relationships online before asking for money.
Phishing messages, by text or email, try to trick people into clicking links and entering personal details, often pretending to be about a parcel delivery, toll or tax refund.
The warning signs
Scammers typically create urgency, telling you to act now. They ask for payment in unusual ways, such as gift cards, crypto or bank transfers to new accounts. They ask for one-time security codes, passwords or remote access to your computer. And they offer returns that seem too good to be true.
Banks and government agencies won’t ask you to move money to protect it, and won’t ask for your passwords or codes.
What to do
If something seems wrong, stop. Hang up and call the organisation back on a number you’ve looked up yourself.
If you’ve sent money or details to a scammer, contact your bank immediately, as it may be able to stop the payment. Report it to Scamwatch and to ReportCyber, and contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160 for support.
Be wary of “recovery” offers, which are often a second scam targeting victims.
The new rules
The Scams Prevention Framework, passed by Parliament in 2025, requires banks, telcos and digital platforms to take steps to prevent, detect and respond to scams, with penalties for failing to do so, and paves the way for victims to seek compensation in some cases.
Older Australians are disproportionately targeted, accounting for more than a quarter of losses reported to Scamwatch in 2025.
