Scams Awareness Week 2023 empowers consumers to ask "Who's really there?"

Impersonation scams have stolen $92 million from Australians and made up more than 70 per cent of reports to Scamwatch from January-September this year. As Scams Awareness Week (November 27-December 1) draws to a close, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is urging for people to be vigilant about checking who they're really communicating with.

Commission deputy chair Catriona Lowe said scammers use sophisticated tactics to convince their victims they are from their bank, a government agency or a high-profile recruitment firm offering what may seem like an amazing job opportunity.

"Scammers deliberately put their victims under pressure and make them feel like they need to act quickly, such as making claims there has been suspicious activity on their bank account. Don't rush to act. Take a moment to consider if it could be a scam," she said.

"That's why we are urging consumers to take a minute and ask themselves if the person they are communicating with - whether it be online or by text, phone or email - is really who they say they are."

Imposter bond scams were the costliest to date, with $35 million stolen from unsuspecting victims. According to government agency Money Smart, such scams involve people impersonating financial services companies or banks and offer fake 'low-risk' investment products, like bonds or fixed term deposits.

These scams target people searching online to compare and find the 'best' long-term or 'safe' investment options.

"Because scammers impersonate real investment providers in these scams, they can be convincing."

Other cons Scamwatch has reported included $14 million from business email compromise scams, which Commonwealth Bank described as usually involving a hacker hijacking an employee or business's email, pretending to be that person or entity when interacting with unsuspecting customers, and encouraging often legitimate payments be made to a fraudulent account. The most successful look like real invoices, payment requests or requests to change account details, and are hard to detect that they're fake.

Bank impersonation scams cost $11 million, which typically involved bogus claims of a fraud team advising a customer's account has been compromised. You can listen to the audio used in such a scam targeting Westpac customers here in 2022 here.

The most reported impersonation scams were road toll scams (19,141 reports), Australian Government impersonation scams (17,770 reports) and "Hi Mum" family impersonation scams (9307 reports).

Reports to Scamwatch showed scammers mostly contacted their victims via text message (49,572 reports), phone (10,565 reports) and online (2,904 reports).

In very sick circumstances, prospective pet owners have had money stolen for animals that are not legitimately available, or they've had to surrender their new furry friend to a shelter.

In any form of communication, don't feel pressured to act if someone is being pushy or suggesting urgency.

If you're on the phone and something just feels off, Catriona's advice is likely what you've told your parents, friends and family members: hang up.

"It's never rude to protect yourself from scams," she said.

"A person calling from a legitimate business or agency should understand if you prefer to call them back, using contact details you have sourced independently."

If it's a text message or email, don't click on any links or open any attachments if you were not expecting to receive the text or email - they are known tactics scammers use to steal personal information. Catriona said 16 per cent of impersonation scams this year involved a loss of personal information.

Here are other things you can do:

STOP - Don't give money or personal information to anyone if you're unsure. Scammers will create a sense of urgency. Don't rush to act. Take your time and don't give money or personal information.

THINK - Ask yourself could the call or text be fake? Scammers pretend to be from organisations you know and trust. Contact the organisation using information you source independently, so that you can verify if the call is real or not. If you're not sure, hang up.

PROTECT - Act quickly if something feels wrong. Contact your bank immediately if you lose money. If you have provided personal information call IDCARE on 1800 595 160.

For more information and to report a scam, visit www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam