With more Aussies spending time online than ever before, cybercrime is on the rise, prompting a new warning from experts.
According to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) data, 2021 was Australia’s worst on record for scams.
In the video above: ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard talks about some of the text message and phishing email scams doing the rounds in Australia
Last year, scammers milked a record $324 million dollars from Australians – an 84 per cent increase on the previous year.
Research commissioned by cybersecurity firm Avast revealed that 64 per cent of Australians have encountered a phishing scam, while 37 per cent have fallen victim.
It also found that 40 per cent of those who had been scammed had to cancel their credit or debit card, 35 per cent had money stolen and 25 per cent had their identity stolen.
“They prey upon our best instincts and they prey upon our best fears and we’ve certainly seen that play out with the COVID-19 pandemic,” says eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.
With so many Aussies still working from home, experts say the risks of getting hacked are at an all-time high.
“Scammers continue to improve their techniques,” said Stephen Kho, a cybersecurity expert with Avast.
“They invest time to make these scams believable… leveraging on the fact that we’re all converging on the one device to…
