The National Anti-Scam Centre is encouraging businesses to partner and share data to help combat increasingly sophisticated scams after Australians reported about $119 million in scam-related losses between January and April 2025.
Statistics from Scamwatch reveal scam reports declined 24 per cent to 72,230, yet losses rose by 28 per cent to $119 million compared to the same period in the previous year.
Early 2025 scam-related losses were 38 per cent lower than the $193.2 million recorded during the same timeframe in 2023.
Phishing scams, where scammers pose as legitimate entities like government agencies or banks, accounted for the largest increase in reported financial losses in 2025, resulting in $13.7 million in losses, up from $4.6 million during the same period in 2024.
“Scams are affecting Australians of all ages, often beginning with an unprompted or unexpected contact via social media and other digital platforms,” said Catriona Lowe, Deputy Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which runs the NASC.
“The work of our fusion cells has demonstrated that a piece of data that may be unremarkable on its own, when joined with other pieces of data, can form powerful intelligence. With data held across the ecosystem, sharing data with the National Anti-Scam Centre enables those vital connections to be made.”
Almost 50 per cent more people reported financial loss to social media scams, with the number rising from 2,232 in 2024 to 3,336.
Total losses went up by 30 per cent to $23.4 million. Increases were also seen in scams initiated via websites, email, and mobile apps.
Phone scams show signs of decline, dropping 11 per cent compared to early 2024. Despite this, they continue to result in the highest overall financial losses among all contact methods, totalling $25.8 million in the first four months of 2025.
“While the average and median losses per victim have slightly decreased, the rise in overall financial loss and the number of people being impacted is a reminder to stay alert,” said Lowe.
“We encourage all Australians to report suspicious scam activity, even if no money is lost as you can provide us with vital intelligence, and talk to friends and family to help spread awareness. Businesses in all industries also need to stay alert to the risk of scams and adapt their systems to keep customers safe.”
Investment scams continue to represent a major concern, making up more than half of all reported scam losses. Australians lost $59 million to these scams in the first four months of 2025, reflecting a 1.4 per cent decrease from last year. However, such scams persist in targeting individuals by offering high investment returns.
Australians aged 65 and above reported the highest total financial losses, amounting to $33.1 million. Meanwhile, individuals aged 25 to 34 (1,504 reports) and 35 to 44 (1,678 reports) filed the most reports of financial loss.