ACCC says that Number of Phishing Scams Almost doubled in Australia in a Single Year

Cnet.com reported on 16th June, 2014 quoting a new study of ACCC as "Australians lost more than $89 million to scams during last year and number of people victimized to phishing scams nearly doubled in one year alone".

Especially ACCC or Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) is a public service body which looks after interest of Aussie consumers.

ACCC's Targeting Scams released report in 2013 revealing 91,000 Australians victimized to scams during 2013 with 14% of these victims suffering financial losses of more than AU$89 million.

Australians are also being targeted more electronically as more than half of victims were conned over phone (via call or text) and 40% of them were hit via Internet and email scams.

It has been found that number of victims through online shopping and computer hacking has remain steady but phishing scams and identity theft have risen by 73% in a single year striking more than 15,000 Australians in 2013.

According to ACCC, fake 'free offers' and scam surveys with company's logos and financial incentives proved most luring which victims could not ignore and realistic-looking phishing emails purporting to be from banks are still managing to victimize Australians.

Cnet.com reported on 16th June, 2014 quoting Delia Rickard, Deputy Chairwoman of ACCC, as saying "Phishing scams often create a sense of urgency where you tend to click and provide personal information without thinking. So don't let scammers to trick you".

Ms Rickard said that annual scams report of 2013 showed dating and romance scams moved to number one position in terms of financial losses amounting to $25,247,418.

She added: "these scammers invest extensive time and effort to deceive you into a fake romance, a fraudulent business partnership or a complex investment scheme. People should be careful and try to find out first the identity of the person with whom they are dealing when they meet the person online".

ACCC plans to identify and warn suspected victims of relationship scams this year with the help of work done by detectives of WA under Sunbird Project targeting scammers operating from West Africa.

» SPAMfighter News - 6/21/2014