The average Australian receives over 250 scam attempts a year

The research also found that men are more likely to have experienced a scam and suffered a loss compared to women (41 per cent to 30 per cent).

And the CommBank study revealed almost three in five (57 per cent) Australians said they have become more concerned about scams over the last 12 months.

The most common reactions of people who have been scammed and suffered a loss are understandably anger (71 per cent) but survey respondents also said they felt devastation/sadness (50 per cent) and embarrassment/shame (44 per cent).

And more people are now becoming concerned about scams with nearly six in 10 (57 per cent) Australians saying it has been a concern for the last 12 months.

The CommBank research showed that despite the prevalence of scams in Australia, a third (33 per cent) of Australians who fell victim to a scam did not report it due to various factors, including feeling like it was their fault (41 per cent), believing that it wouldn’t be worth the effort (33 per cent), and feeling embarrassed or ashamed (26 per cent).

Encouragingly, more than eight in 10 (84 per cent) Australians said they are confident in their ability to recognise and avoid scams, with younger Australians more likely to be very confident in their ability.

Australians also believe that scams have changed over the past 12 months, with the most commonly cited changes including an increase in scam messages/calls (64 per cent) and scams becoming more sophisticated, and therefore harder to identify as fake, with prompts looking more real (57 per cent).

On average, Australians said they receive 4.98 scam calls/emails/SMS/social media messages per week (or almost one per day, or equivalent to 258.96 messages per year).

The research also revealed that 67 per cent of Australians said they receive more scam attempts today than 12 months ago, and 57 per cent said scams have become more sophisticated and harder to identify as fake. In fact, Australians revealed they receive, on average, five scam calls, emails or messages a week, equating to over 250 attempts a year.

Community awareness and action are also rising with more than eight in 10 (84 per cent) of those surveyed saying they would be confident in their ability to recognise and avoid scams. Additionally, 65 per cent are cautious about calls from numbers they don’t recognise, 57 per cent check before clicking on links received via text unless from a friend, and 54 per cent check written materials for spelling and grammar mistakes.

Australians are most likely to contact their bank if they were to fall victim to a scam (79 per cent), followed by reporting the scam to the police (63 per cent). Interestingly, 12 per cent of Aussies would contact the scammer directly.

CBA general manager of group fraud, James Roberts, said recent events have served as a reminder that scams and fraud continue to rise.

“We’ve seen an increase in scam attempts on Aussies in the past few years, with the ACCC reporting $2 billion was lost in 2021 alone. Scammers are experts in what they do, and regularly play on emotions and prey on people’s vulnerabilities,” he said.

“Despite four in 10 (42 per cent) Australians feeling embarrassed about falling victim to a scam, scams can happen to any individual and are unfortunately a common occurrence among vulnerable individuals.

“The research findings show that Australians are becoming more aware of scam behaviours, and as a result, are more cautious about their activities.”

The CommBank has also created a simple guide to help Australians detect scams and fraud — stop. Check. Reject. 

• When you get an unusual call or text. Real organisations won’t put you under pressure to act instantly.
• Contact the organisation the message claims to be from or check with someone you trust.
• If it’s not them, block the texter, delete the email or hang up on the caller. Change your passwords.

“Companies, including the banks and their Security departments, should never ask for a PIN, password or access codes over the phone, email or text, nor should they ever ask for access to your devices,” Mr Roberts said.

“If you receive any contact from someone claiming to be from a service provider asking for this information, call that organisation immediately to verify before taking any action.”