If an offer seems too good to be true or suspicious, it probably is, says Anne Stanley, the federal member for Werriwa.
But she says new figures show the fight against scams is working.
Ms Stanley was speaking after holding a Werriwa scams forum (pictured above), where Stephen Jones, the assistant treasurer and minister for financial services answered questions from those who attended.
Subsequently, Mr Jones released a new report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) showing the Albanese Government’s plan to crackdown on scammers is working.
The National Anti-Scam Centre’s second quarterly report shows scam losses in October to December 2023 have almost halved compared to the same period in 2022.
Before the Albanese Government came to office, Australians were losing over $3 billion a year to scams.
Of particular concern, scam losses had doubled and doubled again in the space of three years.
That trend has now flipped, with scam losses from October to December 2023 reduced by 43 percent from the same quarter in 2022.
This comes after the government implemented its election commitment to crack down on scammers by investing $86.5 million in last year’s Budget, which included establishing the National Anti-Scam Centre.
The National Anti-Scam Centre is a world leading partnership between government, law enforcement and the private sector that uses cutting edge technology to disrupt scams before they reach consumers.
The centre also focusses on raising community awareness to help arm people with tips and tools to help protect them from scammers.
“On the back of the recent Werriwa scams information forum, the latest data shows the government’s decisive action is protecting Australians,’’ Ms Stanley said.
“Every day, scammers are ripping money out of the pockets of hard-working Australians, but the government is fighting back.”
