Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre attributed a sharp drop in scams reported and financial losses incurred in 2024 to joint efforts by the government, industry, law enforcement and community organisations.

The agency’s latest Targeting Scams Report combined data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, IDCARE and Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

The combined data showed scam reports in 2024 fell 17.8 per cent to 494,732, while losses reported to key organisations dropped 25.9 per cent to AUD2 billion ($1.3 billion).

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) deputy chair Catriona Lowe noted in a statement that while the decline in reported financial losses is encouraging, organisations need to “remain vigilant and pivot our defences to maintain this downward trajectory”.

Lowe added she is “confident our coordinated efforts across government, law enforcement and industry will continue to drive losses down.”

The top five scam types, accounting for more than 70 per cent of combined losses, were investment, romance, payment redirection, remote access and phishing.

Financial losses reported for investment scams dropped 27.3 per cent to AUD945 million.

Data from the National Anti-Scam Centre’s Scamwatch showed social media was the most reported contact method leading to financial losses; phone scams racked up the highest losses by category.