Scam Losses and Trends in Australia 2026
Australians lost more than $2.18 billion to scams in 2025, according to the National Anti-Scam Centre’s latest annual Targeting Scams Report, an increase of 7.8% over 2024 even as the total number of scam reports held roughly steady. That figure sits well below the country’s 2022 peak of $3.1 billion, a 29.7% decline overall, but the most current data available for early 2026 shows losses still running in the tens of millions of dollars every single month, with investment scams, romance scams, and increasingly sophisticated online contact methods driving the bulk of the damage.
This report covers the full range of scam statistics shaping Australia in 2026, from total losses and the costliest scam categories to which Australians are hit hardest, how scammers make contact, and what the government-run National Anti-Scam Centre is doing to fight back. Every figure below reflects the most current data available, drawn primarily from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Interesting Facts About Australia Scam Statistics 2026
| Fact | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total reported scam losses, 2025 | $2.18 billion |
| Change from 2024 | +7.8% |
| Decline since the 2022 peak of $3.1 billion | -29.7% |
| Scamwatch reports, Q1 2026 | 45,816, down 17.8% year-on-year |
| Scamwatch losses, Q1 2026 | $76.7 million, down 17% |
| Combined Scamwatch + ReportCyber losses, Q1 2026 | $248.3 million |
| Top scam category by loss, 2025 | Investment scams, $837.7 million |
| Most reported scam type, 2025 | Phishing, 65,361 reports |
| Older Australians’ share of total losses | 26.5%, vs 17.1% of the population |
| Scam websites taken down, Q1 2026 | 5,834 |
Source: National Anti-Scam Centre, ACCC
Australia’s scam problem remains a genuinely large-scale financial threat even as the headline trend has improved from its 2022 peak. $2.18 billion in losses were reported in 2025, up 7.8% from 2024, though still 29.7% below the $3.1 billion peak recorded in 2022. The most recent quarterly data suggests the pressure may be easing further: Scamwatch received 45,816 reports in the first three months of 2026, down 17.8% year-on-year, with reported losses falling to $76.7 million for the quarter, though combining Scamwatch with police reports through ReportCyber pushes the true Q1 2026 loss figure to $248.3 million.
Investment scams remain by far the costliest category, responsible for $837.7 million in losses during 2025 alone, while phishing remains the single most frequently reported scam type at 65,361 reports. The data also reveals a stark demographic imbalance: Australians aged 65 and over make up just 17.1% of the population according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, yet account for 26.5% of all reported financial losses. In response, the National Anti-Scam Centre has ramped up disruption efforts considerably, taking down 5,834 scam websites in the first quarter of 2026 alone.
1. Total Scam Losses in Australia 2026
Total Reported Scam Losses by Year
2022 (peak) |████████████████████████████████████████ $3.1 billion
2024 |███████████████████████████████████ $2.03 billion
2025 |█████████████████████████████████████ $2.18 billion
| Year | Total Reported Losses | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 (peak) | $3.1 billion | — |
| 2024 | $2.03 billion | — |
| 2025 | $2.18 billion | +7.8% |
| Decline, 2022 to 2025 | — | -29.7% |
Source: National Anti-Scam Centre, Targeting Scams Report 2025
The National Anti-Scam Centre’s annual Targeting Scams Report, which combines data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, IDCARE, and ASIC, recorded 481,523 combined scam reports across Australia in 2025, broadly consistent with the 494,732 reports logged in 2024. Of those 2025 reports, 274,577 involved an actual financial loss, totalling $2.18 billion, a 7.8% increase over the $2.03 billion reported in 2024, even though total report volumes have essentially stabilised rather than continuing to climb.
Despite that year-over-year uptick, the longer-term trend remains genuinely positive: total reported losses have fallen 29.7% since peaking at $3.1 billion in 2022, a decline the National Anti-Scam Centre attributes to expanded disruption efforts, stronger bank and telco fraud controls, and growing public awareness campaigns. National Anti-Scam Centre officials have repeatedly cautioned against reading too much into any single reporting period, noting that quarter-to-quarter and even year-to-year figures can move around considerably as reporting patterns and scam techniques both continue to evolve.
2. Q1 2026 Scam Trends: A Rare Decline
Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025 Scamwatch Reports
Q1 2025 |████████████████████████████████████████ baseline
Q1 2026 |█████████████████████████████████ -17.8%
| Metric (Q1 2026) | Figure | Year-on-Year Change |
|---|---|---|
| Scamwatch reports | 45,816 | -17.8% |
| Reports involving financial loss | 6,775 | — |
| Scamwatch losses | $76,703,589 | -17% |
| ReportCyber reports (police) | 15,391 | Also declining |
| ReportCyber losses | $187.7 million | Also declining |
| Combined, deduplicated losses | $248.3 million | — |
Source: National Anti-Scam Centre, ACCC
The first quarter of 2026 delivered a genuinely encouraging signal, at least on paper. Scamwatch received 45,816 scam reports between 1 January and 31 March 2026, down 17.8% compared with the same period in 2025, and of the 6,775 reports that involved an actual financial loss, total reported losses came to $76,703,589, a 17% year-on-year decrease. ReportCyber, which captures reports made directly to police rather than to the consumer-facing Scamwatch service, told a similar story, with 15,391 reports and $187.7 million in losses, also down from the prior year.
When Scamwatch and ReportCyber figures are combined and adjusted to remove duplicate reports, Q1 2026 losses reached $248.3 million across 60,657 total reports. The National Anti-Scam Centre stressed that “we caution against drawing too much from one quarter of data as reports and losses typically move around somewhat,” signalling that officials will need to see this decline sustained across multiple quarters before treating it as confirmation of a genuine, lasting trend reversal rather than normal short-term fluctuation.
3. Top Scam Types by Losses in Australia 2026
Top 5 Scam Types by Reported Losses, 2025
Investment scams |███████████████████████████ $837.7 million
Payment redirection |████████ $166.8 million
Romance scams |███████ $139.9
Phishing scams |█████ $97.6 million
Remote access scams |███ $69.9 million
| Scam Type | 2025 Reported Losses |
|---|---|
| Investment scams | $837.7 million |
| Payment redirection scams | $166.8 million |
| Romance scams | $139.9 million |
| Phishing scams | $97.6 million |
| Remote access scams | $69.9 million |
| Combined share of total losses (top 5) | 60% |
Source: National Anti-Scam Centre, Targeting Scams Report 2025
Five scam categories accounted for 60% of all financial losses reported across Australia in 2025. Investment scams dominate the list by a wide margin at $837.7 million, more than five times the next largest category, payment redirection scams at $166.8 million, where criminals intercept legitimate invoices or payment instructions and redirect funds to accounts they control. Romance scams followed at $139.9 million, with phishing scams at $97.6 million and remote access scams, where criminals convince victims to grant control of their computer or phone, rounding out the top five at $69.9 million.
This concentration in a small number of high-value categories reflects a broader pattern the National Anti-Scam Centre has observed: scammers increasingly favour fewer, more sophisticated, higher-payoff schemes over high-volume, low-value approaches, since a single successful investment or romance scam can net criminals tens of thousands of dollars from one victim, compared with the far smaller typical payout from something like a basic phishing text message, even though phishing remains far more common in raw report volume.
4. Investment Scams: Australia’s Costliest Category in 2026
Investment Scam Losses
2025 annual total |█████████████████████████ $837.7 million
Q1 2026 quarterly |████████ $45.5 million
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Investment scam losses, 2025 annual | $837.7 million |
| Investment scam losses, Q1 2026 | $45.5 million, highest category for the quarter |
| Automatic ASIC referral for investment scams began | March 2024 |
Source: National Anti-Scam Centre, ASIC
Investment scams have consistently ranked as Australia’s single most financially damaging scam category, and the pattern has continued directly into 2026: they generated the highest reported losses of any category in the first quarter alone, at $45.5 million, keeping pace with the $837.7 million total recorded across all of 2025. These schemes typically involve fraudulent trading platforms, fake cryptocurrency opportunities, or convincing but entirely fictitious investment products promoted through social media advertising, cold-calling, or increasingly sophisticated fake websites designed to mimic legitimate financial institutions.
Since March 2024, the National Anti-Scam Centre has automatically referred investment scams reported through Scamwatch directly to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australia’s corporate, markets, and financial services regulator, streamlining the pathway between consumer complaints and regulatory enforcement action. ASIC has continued treating investment scam reduction as one of its core strategic priorities, working alongside international bodies including the International Organization of Securities Commissions to track cross-border scam networks that frequently operate from overseas jurisdictions beyond the direct reach of Australian law enforcement alone.
5. Phishing and Online Contact Methods in Australia 2026
Q1 2026 Contact Method and Scam Type Data
Phishing reports (most common type) |████████████████████████████████████████ 13,428
Email (most common contact method) |██████████████████████████████████████████ 16,759
| Metric (Q1 2026) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Phishing reports | 13,428, most commonly reported scam type |
| Email reports | 16,759, most common contact method |
| Online contact losses (Q1 2026) | $38.3 million |
| Online methods’ share of total losses | around half |
| Most reported scam type, full year 2025 | Phishing, 65,361 reports |
Source: National Anti-Scam Centre, ACCC
Phishing remains the single most frequently reported scam type in Australia by a wide margin, with 13,428 reports in the first quarter of 2026 alone and 65,361 reports across the full 2025 calendar year. Email continues to be the most commonly reported contact method overall, generating 16,759 reports in Q1 2026, though the National Anti-Scam Centre’s broader “online” contact category, which now combines internet, mobile app, and social media contact methods into a single grouping, tells an even starker story: online contact accounted for around half of all reported Scamwatch losses in the first quarter, totalling $38.3 million.
That online concentration reflects how thoroughly scammers have shifted toward digital-first tactics, using fake websites, deceptive social media advertisements, and mobile apps to reach victims rather than relying primarily on phone calls or physical mail as in earlier eras of consumer fraud. Common current examples flagged directly by Scamwatch include criminals impersonating food delivery platforms like DoorDash and Uber Eats, fraudsters promoting fake cryptocurrency trading platforms inside legitimate “share trading” or “stock tips” messaging app groups, and scammers impersonating well-known brands like Amazon and YouTube via SMS text messages to harvest personal or financial information.
6. Older Australians and Scam Vulnerability in 2026
Population Share vs Share of Total Scam Losses
Population share (65+) |███████████████████ 17.1%
Share of total losses |██████████████████████████████ 26.5%
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Australians aged 65+ as share of population | 17.1% (ABS) |
| Australians aged 65+ share of total scam losses | 26.5% |
| Overrepresentation factor | more than 1.5x their population share |
Source: National Anti-Scam Centre, Australian Bureau of Statistics
Older Australians remain dramatically overrepresented among scam victims when measured by financial loss rather than raw report count. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australians aged 65 and over make up 17.1% of the national population, yet the National Anti-Scam Centre’s 2025 data shows this same age group accounted for 26.5% of total reported financial losses, meaning older Australians lose money to scams at a rate well over one and a half times what their population share alone would predict. Retirement savings, including money held in superannuation and drawn down for retirement income, are frequently the specific target of the investment scams that make up such a large share of total losses, since older Australians are more likely to hold substantial accessible lump sums than younger age groups still paying off debt or building savings.
Researchers and consumer advocates attribute this vulnerability gap to a combination of factors, including generally larger accumulated savings and home equity available to be targeted, comparatively less exposure to digital literacy education that younger, digitally native generations received earlier in life, and in some cases a greater baseline trust in phone or email communications that mimic official government or banking correspondence. In response, Services Australia has specifically trained over 250 specialist staff to help protect vulnerable, Indigenous, and multicultural Australians from scams, distributing resources like the ACCC’s “Little Book of Scams” at community events specifically targeted at reaching older and at-risk populations.
7. Romance Scams and Rising Emotional Manipulation Tactics in 2026
Romance Scam Losses
2025 annual |█████████████████████████████ $139.9 million
Q1 2026 |█████████████ $7.5 million, rising
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Romance scam losses, 2025 annual | $139.9 million |
| Romance scam losses, Q1 2026 | $7.5 million, an increasing trend |
| National Anti-Scam Centre fusion cell focus | Its third dedicated report focused specifically on romance scams |
Source: National Anti-Scam Centre
Romance scams, where criminals build a fake romantic relationship with a victim over weeks or months before eventually requesting money, remain one of Australia’s most financially devastating scam categories, generating $139.9 million in losses during 2025 and continuing to trend upward into 2026, with $7.5 million in reported losses during the first quarter alone, an increase compared with prior periods. Unlike more transactional scam types, romance scams typically unfold gradually, with scammers investing significant time building emotional trust before making a financial request, a pattern that tends to produce fewer but far larger individual losses per victim than faster-moving scam categories.
The National Anti-Scam Centre has recognised the growing severity of this category by dedicating its most recent fusion cell report, a coordinated intelligence-sharing initiative bringing together data from banks, telcos, and law enforcement, specifically to romance scams, highlighting what officials describe as the value of coordinated action and cross-sector intelligence sharing in disrupting these emotionally manipulative and often long-running criminal operations before victims lose life-changing sums of money.
8. Betting and “Scambling” Scams: A Growing Threat in 2026
Betting/Sports Investment Scam Growth, 2024 to 2025
Reports |████████████████████ +19.6%
Losses |████████████████████████████████████████ nearly tripled
| Metric (2025 vs 2024) | Change |
|---|---|
| Betting/sports investment scam losses | $2.4 million, nearly tripled |
| Betting/sports investment scam reports | +19.6% |
| Reports from First Nations people | +91.5% |
| Reports from people with disability | +93.5% |
| Most affected age groups | 25–34 and 35–44 |
Source: National Anti-Scam Centre, Targeting Scams Report 2025
A relatively new scam category the National Anti-Scam Centre refers to as “scambling”, betting and sports investment scams that blend gambling-style pitches with fraudulent investment promises, has grown explosively. Losses to this category nearly tripled between 2024 and 2025, reaching $2.4 million, alongside a 19.6% increase in the number of reports, with the losses concentrated most heavily among Australians aged 25 to 34 and 35 to 44, a notably younger demographic than the investment and romance scam categories that tend to skew older, a group already navigating considerable financial pressure amid rising cost-of-living challenges.
Two specific demographic groups saw particularly sharp increases in scambling reports: First Nations Australians recorded a 91.5% increase in reports, and Australians with disability recorded a 93.5% increase, both far outpacing the overall category growth rate and prompting specific concern among consumer advocates about targeted or disproportionate impact on these communities. The National Anti-Scam Centre has flagged this trend as an emerging priority area, given how quickly the category has expanded from a comparatively minor share of total losses into a fast-growing threat requiring dedicated monitoring and response.
9. How Australia Is Fighting Back: The National Anti-Scam Centre in 2026
National Anti-Scam Centre Disruption Activity, Q1 2026
Scam websites taken down |██████████████████████████ 5,834
| Anti-Scam Initiative | Figure/Detail |
|---|---|
| Scam websites disrupted, Q1 2026 | 5,834 |
| Established data-sharing partnerships, end of 2025 | over 40 |
| Reporters referred to IDCARE for recovery support, 2025 | 8,536 |
| Run by | ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) |
Source: National Anti-Scam Centre, ACCC
The National Anti-Scam Centre, run by the ACCC, has significantly expanded its disruption capacity, taking down 5,834 scam websites in just the first quarter of 2026 alone, part of a broader strategy built around bringing together government, law enforcement, and private-sector partners to intercept scams before they reach consumers. By the end of 2025, the Centre had established over 40 formal data-sharing arrangements with partners including telecommunications companies, digital platforms, banks, and cryptocurrency exchanges, alongside government and law enforcement agencies, a network officials describe as central to disrupting scam operations at scale rather than responding only after individual Australians have already lost money.
Beyond disruption, the Centre also connects victims with dedicated recovery support, referring 8,536 Scamwatch reporters to IDCARE, Australia’s national identity and cyber support service, during 2025 alone. The Centre’s public awareness efforts continue under the “Stop. Check. Protect.” framework, encouraging Australians to pause before acting on urgent financial requests, verify the identity of anyone requesting money or personal information through official channels, and act quickly to limit damage and report to Scamwatch if something does go wrong, part of a coordinated approach officials say remains essential given what they describe as the fundamentally “complex, adaptive, and wicked” nature of the scam threat facing the country.
Disclaimer: The data research report we present here is based on information found from various sources. We are not liable for any financial loss, errors, or damages of any kind that may result from the use of the information herein. We acknowledge that though we try to report accurately, we cannot verify the absolute facts of everything that has been represented.
