Australians reported nearly $2.2b in scam losses in 2025
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The news: Australians reported $2.18 billion in financial losses from scams in 2025 according to the consumer watchdog’ National Anti-Scam Centre, up 7.8% on the previous year.
The numbers: However, Australia saw a 29.7% decline in scam losses since the $3.1 billion peak in 2022.
A total 481,523 scam reports were made to Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, IDCARE and corporate watchdog ASIC. The financial losses were flagged across 274,577 reports.
The five scam types that resulted in the greatest losses were investment scams ($837.7m), payment re-direction scams ($166.8m), romance scams ($139.9m), phishing scams ($97.6m) and remote access scams ($69.9m). These accounted for 60% of losses.
The context: Australia and other G7 countries endorsed a Call to Action to Combat Fraud at the United Nations and Interpol Global Fraud Summit. More than 100 organisations also endorsed a Public Private Partnership Framework to enhance global cooperation against scams.
What they said: “Scams are often described as a ‘wicked problem’ because they are complex, fast-evolving, and resistant to simple solutions,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
“The Targeting Scams Report provides an overview of the scam landscape and highlights the collaboration and shared accountability needed to tackle the harm caused by scams both here in Australia and globally.”
The source: ACCC media release
