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When it comes to scams, prevention is better than a cure. It can be difficult to recover money lost to a scam and even more difficult to recover your identity if your personal information is stolen. The number one way you can prevent scams is by talking about them to spread awareness.
Scams Awareness Week is an annual campaign dedicated to raising awareness of scams. This year Scams Awareness Week is being held from 7 to 11 November with the theme ‘How to spot a scam’. There are lots of online resources and activities you can access throughout the week to help increase your awareness of scams.
Scams cost Australian consumers, businesses and the economy hundreds of millions of dollars each year and cause serious emotional harm to victims and their families. As at 31 August 2022, Scamwatch received 146, 700 reports with losses over $381.2 million so far this year. This is a 100% increase in losses compared to the same period last year.
Did you know investment scams cause the most financial loss in Australia? According to Scamwatch, over $267 million have been lost so far this year.
Investment scams involve promises of big payouts, quick money or guaranteed returns. Always be suspicious of any investment opportunities that promise a high return with little or no risk – if it seems too good to be true, it probably is – and is highly likely to be a scam.
Cryptocurrency scams are the most popular type of investment scams and the most common contact modes are phone, SMS and email. It is very difficult to identify legitimate cryptocurrency investments from scams. Scammers take advantage of the hype and the less regulated environment to ‘invest’ in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency on your behalf. Before you invest you should ask yourself if you are willing to lose some or all of the money you have invested and know that if you go ahead you are investing with little or no protections behind you.
Scams are everywhere, so it’s likely most people have either encountered a scam themselves or know someone who has. The number one way you can prevent scams is by raising awareness and talking about them with your family, friends, colleagues and clients. This is because many people who experience a scam never report it to anyone – they feel ashamed they fell for a scam. Talking about scams removes this stigma and spreads awareness. It can also help people get out of them sooner rather than later if they are already in one. Some other simple steps you can take to protect yourself and your business are: