Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development
The National Anti-Scam Centre’s latest Targeting Scams Report highlights the complex, adaptive, and “wicked” nature of scams, and the critical role of collaboration in disrupting criminal networks, as Australians reported more than $2 billion in financial losses.
The report combines data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX), IDCARE and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
In 2025, Australians made a combined total of 481,523 scam reports across these institutions. Of these, 274,577 reports involved financial losses totalling $2.18 billion.
While reports have stabilised, losses have increased by 7.8 per cent, compared with 2024. Overall, Australia has seen a reduction in reported scam losses of 29.7 per cent since the peak of $3.1 billion in 2022.
The top five scam types by loss were investment scams ($837.7m), payment re-direction scams ($166.8m), romance scams ($139.9m), phishing scams ($97.6m) and remote access scams ($69.9m).
The financial losses from these five scam types accounted for 60 per cent of total losses in 2025.
“Scams are often described as a ‘wicked problem’ because they are complex, fast-evolving, and resistant to simple solutions. The Targeting Scams Report provides an overview of the scam landscape and highlights the collaboration and shared accountability needed to tackle the harm caused by scams both here in Australia and globally,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
Earlier this month, Australia joined other G7 countries to endorse a Call to Action to Combat Fraud at the United Nations and Interpol Global Fraud Summit. In addition, more than 100 organisations endorsed a Public Private Partnership Framework to enhance global cooperation in the fight against scams.
“As Australia and indeed the world faces increasing sophistication in scam activity through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the industrialisation of criminal syndicates through scam compounds, it is clear more needs to be done, quickly and at scale,” Ms Lowe said.
“It’s also important to note that the actions demonstrated in the report are made possible because Australians took the time to share their experiences. Without people speaking up, we simply wouldn’t have the insights needed to track and disrupt scam activity. We encourage people to report suspicious activity so we can continue improving our understanding and response to scams.”
Scamwatch trends
The National Anti-Scam Centre runs the Scamwatch reporting service. In 2025, the most reported scam to Scamwatch was phishing scams, with 65,361 reports.
Betting and sports investment scams saw an increase in both reports and losses. A scam type, sometimes referred to as ‘scambling’ accounts for the vast majority of this increase. Scamwatch received reports of $2.4 million in losses to betting and sports investment scams; almost triple the amount lost in the previous year. There was also a 19.6 per cent increase in reports on betting and sports investment scams between 2024 and 2025. These losses were reported mostly among the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups. There was a 91.5 per cent increase in reports about betting scams from First Nations people and a 93.5 per cent increase in reports from people with disability.
Australians aged 65 and over, who according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics comprise approximately 17.1 per cent of the population, accounted for 26.5 per cent of total losses reported to Scamwatch.
Scammers were more likely to steal money and personal information through online contact methods, such as websites and social media platforms. In 2025, reports of online-based scams with a loss increased by 31.8 per cent, and financial losses increased by 21 per cent.
The largest decrease in reported scam contact methods was for text message scams, which was down from 77,365 in 2024 to 29,058 in 2025.
Scam disruptions
In 2025, the National Anti-Scam Centre:
- sent over 8,400 websites for assessment, resulting in the removal of over 7,500 scam URLs – an increase of at least 30 per cent compared to 2024
- referred over 7,000 suspected Facebook scam URLs to Meta for further investigation
- referred 844 Gmail addresses, 14 organic YouTube URLs and 2,098 advertisements to Google for further investigation
- referred 19 Telegram channels for further investigation
- referred 4,246 unique phone numbers and 921 unique sender IDs to telecommunications partners for disruption, over 4 times as many as in 2024.
- referred hundreds of high-risk scam call back numbers to Optus, expanding its call blocking disruption activity to include tech-support and payment impersonation scams
- referred intelligence to our third-party takedown service, as well as Google and Meta, for removal, resulting in the removal of over 600 betting scam websites and over 600 social media profiles and forums
- referred 8,536 Scamwatch reporters to IDCARE for tailored and timely scam recovery support
“The Targeting Scams Report reinforces that scam prevention requires a coordinated, whole-of-ecosystem approach. The National Anti-Scam Centre continues to work with partners to detect threats, share intelligence, and disrupt scams, quicker and at scale,” Ms Lowe said.
“We know losses remain high, but coordinated interventions are key to combating scams, and we will continue working together to strengthen efforts, including through the Scams Prevention Framework.”
The National Anti-Scam Centre released its latest and third fusion cell report this month; focusing on romance scams and highlighting the value of coordinated action and intelligence sharing to strengthen disruption efforts.
Background
The data in the Targeting Scams Report is for the calendar year 1 January to 31 December 2025.
Reference to combined reports or combined losses include data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, AFCX, IDCARE and ASIC.
Adjustments have been made to address duplication in reporting and to remove unreliable high loss reports from within those datasets. Data can change over time due to people withdrawing reports or quality assurance processes.
Learn how to Stop. Check. Protect. to stay safe from scams:
STOP. Always take a moment before giving your money or personal information to anyone. Scammers will create a sense of urgency to pressure you into acting quickly. Don’t rush to make decisions about money or sharing personal details.
What to do:
- Say no, hang up, or delete suspicious messages
- Take time to think before responding to unexpected requests
- Don’t let anyone pressure you into immediate action
- Trust your instincts if something feels wrong
CHECK. Make sure the person or organisation you’re dealing with is real. Scammers pretend to be from organisations you know and trust. Always verify who you’re really dealing with before taking any action.
What to do:
- Contact the person or organisation directly using phone numbers or email addresses you find on their official website or app
- Research investment opportunities or offers through official sources like ASIC
- Get a second opinion from family, friends, or professionals
PROTECT. Act quickly it something feels wrong. The sooner you act, the better you can protect yourself and others from scammers.
What to do:
- Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve lost money or shared financial details
- Contact IDCARE (www.idcare.org or call 1800 595 160) if you want support to recover – they can help you create a plan to the limit damage of scams
- Report to Scamwatch (www.scamwatch.gov.au) to help protect others
- Report to police (www.cyber.gov.au)
- Change passwords and security details if you think they’ve been compromised
- Monitor your bank statements and credit reports for unusual activity
- Report the scam to the impersonated organisation and platform where the scam is happening
- Being scammed can feel overwhelming. Support is available at Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636