2018-05-24

Indigenous Australians lose $1.7 million to scams

Indigenous Australians lose $1.7 million to scams

23 May 2018
Indigenous Australians who fell victim to scams in 2017 lost an average of nearly $6500 according to the ACCC’s latest Targeting scams report.

The ACCC’s Scamwatch website received 1810 scam reports in 2017 from Indigenous people with losses totalling nearly $1.7 million – a 14 per cent increase compared to 2016.

“Reports of scam activity to the ACCC from Indigenous people has, unfortunately, never been higher,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.

The scam reported most by Indigenous people was unexpected prize and lottery scams (194 reports), while victims of dating and romance scams reported the most losses at $746,790.

Ms Rickard said Indigenous people should also be wary of online shopping scams and investment scams.

“Nearly one in every two Indigenous people who reported one of these scams to the ACCC lost money,” Ms Rickard said.

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