Australians lost more than $176 million to scams in the last year with over 216,000 scams reported to Scamwatch, a group run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, over than 5,170 scams reported were related to the virus, resulting in losses of more than $6.2 million.
Scams target people of all backgrounds, ages and income levels across Australia. There's no one group of people who are more likely to become a victim of a scam, all of us may be vulnerable to a scam at some time.
The two common ways that scammers will try to deceive people out of there super is through identity theft and false investment scams.
Be alert to the fact that scams exist and protect your identity by:
• Not opening suspicious texts, pop-up windows or click on links or attachments in emails – delete them
• Not responding to phone calls about your computer asking for remote access – hang up
• Keeping your personal details and devices secure
• Regularly reviewing your privacy and security settings online
• Staying wary of unusual payment requests, specially for your details or money
For more information on how to protect yourself from scams, visit Scamwatch or the Australian Cyber Security Centre.