CANBERRA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The number of scams reported by Australians fell in the first six months of 2025, but financial losses rose, according to government data.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said on Monday that its Scamwatch service received 108,305 reports of scams in the first six months of 2025, a decline of 24 percent from the corresponding period in 2024.
However, it said that Australians reported losing 174.8 million Australian dollars (113.5 million U.S. dollars) to scams in the first half of the year, an increase of 26 percent from the first half of 2024.
According to the ACCC, the number of reported incidences of scams involving financial losses increased by 40.5 percent between 2024 and 2025. The average reported loss fell by about 10 percent to 12,212 Australian dollars (7,933.7 U.S. dollars).
The number of reported scams involving financial loss rose by 44 percent among Australians who speak English as a second language, and by 55.3 percent among Indigenous Australians.
There were more than 6,300 reported incidences of financial loss to shopping scams in the six-month period, the most of any type of scam.
"Scammers are increasingly targeting people on websites and social media, knowing we're all spending more time and money online. Taking just a few moments to verify a seller or offer can be the difference between a good deal and a devastating financial loss," ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said in a media release.
Losses to phishing scams totaled 19.5 million Australian dollars (12.6 million U.S. dollars) in the first six months of 2025, which the ACCC partly attributed to a rise in cryptocurrency impersonation scams. ■
