Amanda Jones
30 January 2015: Australians who fell prey to phone and online romance scams in 2014 were left more than just heartbroken, losing $20.6 million to predators according to new research by the University of Canberra.
The report Scams in Australia 2014 by the Centre for Internet Safety at the University of Canberra found that the total amount lost from reported scams in 2014 exceeded $64.5 million, with dating and romance scams accounting for the greatest loss.
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"Dating and romance scams are particularly convincing because they appeal to a person's romantic or compassionate site," director of the Centre for Internet Safety, Nigel Phair explains. "Scammers set up fake profiles on dating and social networking sites and play on emotional triggers to get people to provide money, gifts or personal details."
Mr Phair, who authored the report, analysed nearly 80,000 self-reported cases of scams using data provided by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Results were then divided into seven categories including jobs and investments, buying, selling or donating, unexpected money and threats and extortion.
Overall, males from Victoria lost the highest amount for reported scams at more than $7 million while Queensland females aged 45-54 suffered the highest reported loss through threats and extortion scams.
Unexpected money scams such as inheritance or Nigerian scams accounted for close to $9 million, with the highest loss coming from males aged 35-44. Internet contact was the most successful method used by scammers, followed by phone and email.
As the figures rely on self-reporting, Mr Phair said it's difficult to determine if this is the true cost of scams in Australia and warned that the figure could be much higher.
"Thankfully, the majority of self-reported scams didn't result in any monetary loss, however the data shows that scammers are targeting people of all backgrounds, ages and income levels across Australia."
Mr Phair said there are a few simple steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of scams, such as using a spam blocker and not replying to spam, not opening attachments you aren't expecting, keeping your antivirus software updated and not giving out personal information over the phone.
