Many scammers out of reach as financial impact of scams
rises
Every year Australians lose millions of dollars to dating and
other online scams, as people are lured into handing over money to
scammers who create fake online profiles targeting people looking
for love.
Scamwatch, operated by the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission, says $324 million was lost to scams in 2021, mostly to
investment and dating or romance scams. It is even worse in 2022,
with $167 million lost in the first three months of the year,
mostly to investment scams.
In Australia, people aged 25 to 34 and men lost the most through
scams. (Please see Scam statistics, ACCC Scamwatch.)
Scamwatch says very little of the scammed money is ever
recovered. Even if the scammers are identified and tracked down,
the vast majority are overseas, so it is extremely difficult for
Australian authorities to take action against them.
