Leaders in the cybersecurity industry are highlighting the urgent need for vigilance and robust security measures as scams continue to cause harm. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission Deputy Chair, Catriona Lowe, says victims are being left vulnerable, with some too ashamed to admit they've fallen for a scam.
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00:00Far too many Australians are victim to these criminals, scammers. In 2023, Australians
00:11lost $2.74 billion to scams. That's the reported losses. And we know that around 30% of people
00:21don't report. And one of the reasons for that is that they feel ashamed, they feel responsible.
00:28So this Scams Awareness Week, we are encouraging Australians to share their stories. Because
00:34of course, the more we talk, the less power the scammers have. It helps victims get the
00:40support they need. It also helps the National Anti Scam Centre get intelligence that actually
00:46enables us to disrupt the scams, even though those losses are really huge. We have seen
00:52for the first time a drop in the losses reported by Australians. So we encourage victims to
01:00remember three key words, stop, check, report. So firstly, stop. Before you transfer money,
01:10before you provide that personal information, check. Do I really know who I'm talking to?
01:17Do an independent search and verify those details and report. If something feels wrong,
01:23contact your bank as soon as possible and report the matter to Scamwatch. Scams can
01:29happen to anyone. Scammers are excellent at both exploiting technology to make the scam
01:37seem extremely real, but also our natural human emotions, you know, trust, desire to
01:43find love, desire to do better for your family. So these are natural human emotions. No one
01:50should feel ashamed by getting caught by what is ultimately a crime.