This is the second annual report on scams activity released by the National Anti-Scam Centre since it was established on 1 July 2023 within the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. 

This report provides insight into scams targeting Australians in 2024 and highlights the impact of combined efforts by government, law enforcement, community sector and industry to combat scams. 

Scam reports and reported losses to scams have decreased from 2023. $2.03 billion was reported lost to scams in Australia in 2024, a 25.9% decrease from 2023, while over the same period Australians made 494,732 scam reports compared to 601,803 in 2023 (a 17.8% decrease in reports).

The authors note that while they are cautiously optimistic that this downward trend will continue, there was an uptick in loss reports over the last months of 2024. Defences need to continue to be strengthened to keep pace with innovations by scammers, making Australia a harder target and reducing the financial and emotional harm caused by scams.