IN 2021, Australian farmers and agriculture businesses lost over $1.5 million to scammers targeting the agriculture industry, an ACCC report released this morning reveals.
The most reported category of loss in agriculture was classified scams, with over $686,000 in reported losses, closely followed by online shopping scams with over $676,000 reported lost.
The most common agriculture scam reported was fake online sales for heavy machinery/tractors.
This was a trend that became prominent during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to the ACCC’s Targeting Scams report.
There were also significant losses to agriculture businesses from false billing scams.
Scammers issued counterfeit invoices under real business names to farmers who purchased agricultural inputs, such as fertiliser.
In one case, a small business owner lost over $200,000 by transferring money to a scammer’s bank account listed on a false invoice.
Scammers also sought to obtain personal information, such as driver licences, passports, Medicare details and addresses from agriculture businesses and farmers.
Tractor scams Scamwatch received 313 reports about scams involving the sale of tractors and other agricultural machinery such as backhoes, bobcats and excavators.
The total losses from agricultural machinery scams in 2021 was $1.4 million.
These scams targeted people looking to purchase both new and second-hand…
