Spike in social media scams duping older Aussies

The National Anti-Scam Centre's quarterly report for October-December 2023 found 16,901 scams had been reported by people in this age bracket, with a total $20.49 million lost.

Over 65s were the highest represented group for social media scams, with 30 per cent of all losses of all social media losses being attributed to people in this age bracket. This is a 57 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter for this age group.

The figures come out after The Senior had previously reported on the ACCC's Scams Awareness Week campaign to check people are who they say they are, plus a surge in bank impersonation scams, and cruelly, a warning about overseas lovers who don't actually exist.

A total of 3792 people reported $15.9 million in losses to scams initiated on social media platforms or online forums in that time.

For the calendar year, people in Australia lost $95 million due to social media scams, of which they occurred from contact via Whatsapp (47 per cent of losses), Facebook (20 per cent), online dating sites (nine per cent) and Instagram (nine per cent).

More than 16,000 people said the scam started on a social media platform or an online forum with an ad, a post, or a message. Many people reported placing an order, usually after seeing an ad, but never received their goods. Some reports described advertisements that impersonated real, online retailers.

"Scammers take advantage of their anonymity, and the relative low cost in reaching a wider audience through fake advertisements and other forms of contact, on social media," the report said.

About $82 million was lost to scams for all people in Australia during that quarter, with the average reported loss being $1224.

A total of 67,116 reports were filed.

Text messages accounted for the biggest amount of points of contact (38 per cent, 25,242 text messages), followed by emails (30 per cent, 19,900 emails) and phone calls (17 per cent 11,278 calls). These methods accounted for 84 per cent of all contacts.

Phone calls proved the most financially devastating method, with $24.5 million lost by this form of contact, followed by social media ($15.9 million) and email ($15.5 million).

The ACCC has some simple advice to help minimise your chances of falling for a scammer:

If you've been duped, contact your bank or card provider straight away to report the scam, and ask them to stop further transactions.

IDCARE is Australia and New Zealand's national identity and cyber support service. They can help you make a plan (for free) to limit the damage. Call them on 1800 595 160 or visit their website to find out more.

Scams can be reported to Scamwatch at portal.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam/ Before you start your claim, make sure you have details of the scam, including who contacted you and when, plus any supportive documents, for example screenshots.

More information can be found at scamwatch.com.au and search for "What to do if you've been scammed"

The quarterly snapshot said reports to Scamwatch showed the emotional and social, let alone financial, harm that scams can have on people, including mental health crisis.

"The shame and self-blame associated with scams can create isolation and trauma that can be difficult to overcome," it said.

"Many Australians report losing their entire life savings, their superannuation, or their home as well as friends and family. Sadly, we are also aware of Australians who have died from suicide because of a scam."

If you have been scammed and need someone to talk to, contact: