Australians faced a staggering financial blow last year, with scams siphoning away nearly $335 million from unsuspecting victims. At the forefront of these fraudulent activities were investment scams, which inflicted the most significant losses.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch has unveiled its comprehensive data for December, painting a stark picture of the scam landscape in 2025. While the number of reported scams decreased from 249,448 in 2024 to 200,700 in 2025, the financial impact was more severe, with losses soaring from $318.7 million to $334.8 million—a troubling increase of $16.1 million.

The question then arises: how did these scammers manage to ensnare their victims, and was there a specific group they targeted? Email emerged as the preferred method of contact, with over 84,800 reports of email scams. This trend highlights the importance of vigilance in digital communications as scammers continue to refine their deceptive tactics.

So how did scammers approach their victims? And did they have a targeted demographic?

How did scammers make contact?

Email was reported as the most popular form of contact for scammers, with more than 84,800 email scams reported.

Around 43,000 scams came from other online methods, including social media, mobile or online forums, reporting an overall $158.5 million loss.

Nearly 38,000 phone call scams were reported.

What scams resulted in the biggest financial losses?

Investment scams were the most damaging, bringing losses of $172 million, with 6,785 reports.

Phishing, where people are tricked online into revealing sensitive information such as passwords and credit cards numbers came next with losses of $31 million, from 65,000 scams.

Around 3,400 romance scams were reported, with victims losing a combined $28.6 million.

The median amount lost to investment scams was $7,661.42; to phishing, $2,000; and to romance scams, $1,400.

Other scams to watch out for

Employment, false billing, threats, shopping scams, ID theft, IT support and rebates (where people are told they are due a rebate from an organisation such as the government or a bank) are among other types of scams employed.

These brought an almost $90 million loss in 2025.

The victims

Overall, men fell victim to more scams and lost more money than women, according to Scamwatch.

Men lost $113.9 million to investment scams, while women lost $57.9 million.

People over the age of 65 were the biggest scam victims, having reported an $88.8 million overall loss.

People aged 55 to 64 years followed, recording a median loss of $445.71.

What to know about avoiding scams

Scamwatch urges people to always stop and check before you act, as scammers utilise time sensitivity as a way to deceive their victims, pressuring them to act quickly.

The watchdog also notes that criminals take advantage of new technology, which includes artificial intelligence (AI).

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has recently warned in its issues outlook that the increasing use of agentic AI — accomplishing goals of a business with limited supervision — could amplify harm for consumers.

It can be beneficial for businesses and lead to a productivity boom, but for consumers it can exploit behavioural biases and amplify the threat of scams.

Outgoing ASIC chair Joe Longo told the Australian Associated Press: “The whole question of literacy around technology is related to financial literacy, because we’re seeing a convergence.”

He said: “So many financial products are promoted through a range of these technologies or platforms. So I do worry that, as a community, we’re not investing enough in our level of understanding around these issues.”

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