A record number of Western Australians fell victim to scams in 2021, also losing a record amount of money.
In its 2021 Year in Review Scam Report, WA ScamNet at Consumer Protection reveals that 1,041 victims, an increase of 10 per cent from the previous year, reported losses totalling $14,791,708, an increase of 27 per cent. There were 4,128 scam reports received in total, an increase of 18 per cent.
These are the highest figures recorded since the annual scam reports were first compiled in 2015.
The greatest financial losses were recorded as result of investment cons ($6.67 million), mainly cryptocurrency, and romance/dating scams ($2.99 million). In terms of the number of victims, online shopping and buying/selling classified scams topped the list.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection Gary Newcombe said the rise in scams reflected an increase in online trading, as well as the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
“As more and more consumers do business online, the risk of falling victim to scams increases as professional criminals become experts at hacking email accounts and creating fake websites, social media pages and classified ads,” Mr Newcombe said.
“There has been an avalanche of phony text messages and emails being sent to people which contain links to websites that seek to either…
