A bank card being hacked, spam messages claiming to be a government body or bank are scams that many people in the Highlands have been impacted by.
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More than 150 seniors gathered at the Moss Vale Services Club to learn more about scams, and how to steer clear and report them on June 16.
The awareness forum was held by Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Financial Services and Member for Whitlam Stephen Jones, and was the third session held in the region.
He said he wanted to encourage others to report scams they have been impacted by, to prevent others being impacted by the same issues.
"My job is not to embarrass somebody, but to get them to learn and share," he said.
"Education is a key part of it."
Data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reveals people in NSW have lost $59.1 million to scams in 2023, with the most complaints issued by people aged 65 and older, followed by those between 55 and 64 years of age.
Of this amount, $31.5 million was lost from investment scams, $6.9 million from false billing, $4.7 to romance scams, $4 million to phishing and $3.9 million to job and employment scams.
A report from the ACCC revealed more than $3.1 billion was lost to scans in 2022, which is an 80 per cent jump from 2021.
Throughout the forum, residents shared their stories of losing funds, or receiving suspicious emails and messages.
When Mr Jones asked the room how many were sent something in the last 24 hours that they suspected was a scam, most of the room put their hands up.
The assistant treasurer offered different tips such as getting reference numbers off callers who claim to be from an organisation, not opening SMS links and pausing when looking at something.
"Scammers love it when you are doing three or four things at once," he said.
What is the government doing to combat scams?
The ACCC has received $86.5 million in government funding to establish a National Anti-Scam Centre, which will be in operation from July 1.
It will be a partnership between government agencies, banks, telcos and digital platforms and is going to be used to disrupt, deter and detect scammers and online fraud.
Another initiative the government is working on is a whitelist - a registry of verified caller IDs', and works in the opposite way to a blacklist.
Where to report scams
If you think your identity has been compromised, you can call IDCARE on 1800 595 160, report a scam to scamwatch.gov.au/.
You can also report a scam to other agencies that deal with specific issues:
- ReportCyber: cyber.gov.au/report-and-recover/report
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC): call the infoline on 1300 300 630, or visit moneysmart.gov.au (financial and investment scams)
- Fraud and theft: local police on 13 1444
- Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA): the customer service centre on 1300 850 115, or acma.gov.au (spam emails and SMS)
- Australian Taxation Office to verify someone: 1800 008 540 or forward your email to ReportEmailFraud@ato.gov.au (tax related scams)
- Your bank institution
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Briannah Devlin
I like to write about arts, entertainment, any local reality tv leads, and property for the Southern Highland News and Goulburn Post, but also report on everything in between. If you have any tips, please send them to Briannah.Devlin@austcommunitymedia.com.au, or call 0439142204.
I like to write about arts, entertainment, any local reality tv leads, and property for the Southern Highland News and Goulburn Post, but also report on everything in between. If you have any tips, please send them to Briannah.Devlin@austcommunitymedia.com.au, or call 0439142204.
