Scammers targeting Australians with ‘new and unsuspecting methods’, says report
Emerging technologies are enabling scammers to target Australians using new and unsuspecting methods, making the scam landscape more complex than ever.
BDO’s latest Australian Scam Culture Report reveals that in addition to traditional scam delivery methods such as text, email, phone calls and social networking, scammers are increasingly leveraging dark web tools and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their cybercrime capability.
The March 2024 quarter saw a decline in the total dollars lost by Australians to scams – just over $77 million compared to a loss of just over $80 million in the December 2023 quarter.
This decrease may indicate an increasing awareness of common scam tactics among Australians.
The widely publicised large-scale attacks affecting Australians and the current tax reporting season may also impact this trend, as both individuals and organisations are targeted.
BDO’s latest report also delves into the scam trends over the March 2024 quarter, including:
- The development of AI chat-style technologies by cybercriminals on the dark web enabling scammers to refine their tactics and increase their scam capability
- An increase in total dollars lost to job and employment scams, with over $7 million dollars lost to this scam type in January 2024 alone
- There is a rise in remote access scams in Australia, with over 1,800 reports made this quarter.
“We are seeing several new scam types on the rise, in particular jobs and employment related scams,” said BDO partner and forensic services expert Stan Gallo in the report.
“In January of this quarter, Australians lost just over $7 million to this scam type that involves the exploitation of individuals seeking new employment opportunities.”
Gallo said that it was anticipated that tax-related scams would increase around 30 June, before pivoting to target individuals’ refunds in July.
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“As technologies develop, it serves as a reminder that it is more important than ever for all Australians to educate themselves on the prevalent types of scams within the community and adopt better protection and risk mitigation strategies,” Gallo said.
Read the full report here.
BDO’s forensic services professionals can help you mitigate and resolve high-risk matters, and help organisations create and embed governance frameworks to retain value. Contact our forensic services team to learn more about how we can help you prevent, detect, and respond to risk in your organisation.
