Have you been receiving more scam calls and messages recently? Have you stopped answering calls from unknown numbers? We certainly have.
According to the ACCC, Australians lost over $211 million to scams in 2021, representing an 89% increase on the amount lost in the year before. Further, phone- and social media-based scams are becoming a larger proportion of the overall scams seen in Australia, having ‘exploded’ since the COVID-19 pandemic began.[1]
Many scammers took advantage of the global shift to online shopping, e.g. by sending fake links to “track your package” or to release it for delivery (which, if clicked, cause malware to be installed on your device), by posing as an online retailer requiring your credit card details to “process a refund” (read: steal your identity and financial information), or by setting up fake websites and investment platforms cloning the names and addresses of legitimate businesses and mirroring real time trading events to trick people into “investing” in non-existent cryptocurrency, as this young couple unfortunately found out to the tune of $110,000.
Several scams were specifically designed to take advantage of the uncertainty and isolation caused by the pandemic. Some scammers would, for example: present opportunities to invest in a fake vaccine company or to purchase phony medication; pose as medical professionals, claiming that your relative has the virus and that you must pay for their treatment; offer fake check-in…
