Scammers are leveraging economic uncertainty to target younger Australians, while exploiting cyber literacy gaps in older members of the community, a new Bankwest study has found.
The Safe and Savvy Report, released in support of Scams Awareness Week, highlighted the concerning trend of criminals taking advantage of cyber literacy and confidence gaps in older Australians, with those 65 years old and above accounting for 44% of cases.
The study found that older Australian’s unfamiliarity with technology have been used by criminals to launch remote access attacks, which were the most common category for age groups 45-54, 55-64, and 64 and over.
Remote access scams, also called technical support scams, involve criminals posing as tech support to get access to a victim’s device to steal sensitive information and money.
Young Australians, meanwhile, were being targeted amidst economic uncertainty, with job and investment scams (such as pyramid schemes and fake crypto sales) accounting for 29% of cases for those aged 25-34, the report found.
It was the highest volume of cases in a single scam category for any age band, with remote access scams the next highest standout, accounting for 28% of cases in those aged 65 and older.
Threat and penalty scams, which include fake alerts, texts for overdue money, and warning of a warrant for arrest unless payment is made, were the most common across all age groups, accounting for 23% of all scams.
Bankwest said it was able to recover more than $10 million over the past 12 months.
“The threat of scams will be ever-present, as criminals alter tactics to avoid preventative measures, which means the best strategy to countering scammers is to inform and empower people to identify their methods,” said Audrey Pajmon, Bankwest executive manager of fraud management.
“Bankwest does everything it can to recover every dollar, but it’s not always possible, particularly if victims are willing participants in transactions, which is why it’s critical for the community to stay informed and vigilant.”
Pajmon is encouraging people “to arm themselves with an understanding of scams.” They can access Scamwatch, ACCC’s Little Black Book of Scams, as well as Bankwest’s Safe and Savvy Guide, to be informed on how to stay safe online.
