The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued a warning about scams that are targeting people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities as well as people with a disability and indigenous Australians.

Deputy Chair of the ACCC, Delia Rickard said the ACCC’s recently released ‘Targeting scams’ report showed that people from CALD communities made up five per cent of all reports to Scamwatch, and almost 13 per cent of the total losses, while community members lost a total of $42 million – an 88 per cent increase compared to 2020.

Mr Rickard said members of CALD communities who reported a financial loss to Scamwatch on average lost $1,200, compared to an average loss of $845 for all people.

Nearly $1.8 billion in losses were reported to Scamwatch, ReportCyber, 12 financial organisations and other government agencies.

”When we take into account the fact that around one third of scam victims don’t report to anyone, it is clear that the real loss figure is well over $2 billion. We also know that the true cost of scams is far more than just financial – it leads to emotional stress and can have life changing consequences for many individuals, families, and businesses,” Ms Rickard said.

She said people from CALD communities were also over-represented in financial losses due to scams involving threats to life, arrest and other, and identity theft.

The largest combined losses in 2021 were: $701 million lost to investment scams; $227 million lost to payment redirection scams, and; $142 million lost to romance scams.

The most frequently complained about scams in 2021 were: phishing & identity theft scams with over 93,000 complaints; threats to life, arrest or other with over 32,000 complaints; false billing with over 21,000 complaints, and; online shopping scams with over 20,000 complaints.

As only about 13 per cent of victims report to Scamwatch, meaning the numbers vastly understate the extent of these scams.

“In 2021 scams have sadly continued to cause harm to people in all sections of the community. Worryingly, some of the more vulnerable members of the community are reporting increasingly high losses. Indigenous Australians, older Australians, people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities and people with disability are losing far more than ever before,” Ms Rickard said.

“As a community we need to focus more effort on disrupting & preventing scams both by stopping scammers connecting with potential victims in the first place as well as stopping money reaching scammers,’ she said.

Meanwhile, Scamwatch received a total of 4,958 reports from Indigenous Australians, who reported $4.8 million in losses.

Ms Rickard said this represented a 43 per cent increase in reports and 142 per cent increase in losses since 2020.

“Scammers generally cast their nets very wide, but some specifically target groups such as Indigenous Australians and CALD communities,” she said.

“Unfortunately, we saw some vulnerable members of the community lose significantly more money to scams last year,” she said.

“As vulnerable consumers can be difficult to reach through traditional channels, we also encourage the wider community to assist in sharing warnings about scams.”

“The Australian Government will never threaten you with immediate arrest,” Ms Rickard said, in a message to CALD communities.

“Always stop to consider who you might be dealing with, and if you’re not sure if the call is legitimate, hang up and call the organisation directly using contact details you independently source,” she said.

Ms Rickard said people who identified as having a disability made 15,387 reports to Scamwatch last year and lost more than $19.6 million to scams.

“This is a 104 per cent increase in reports and 102 per cent increase in financial losses compared to 2020,” she said.

“If you think scammers might have gained access to your personal information, contact your bank immediately.”

The ACCC’s ‘Targeting scams’ Report can be accessed here.