Australians reported more than 108,000 scams and financial losses of about $175 million to the National Anti-Scam Centre’s Scamwatch service in the first half of 2025.

Fake websites, online advertisements, and contact through social media criminals were the preferred methods of reaching people.

Scamwatch received 108,305 reports about scams in the first six months of 2025, which is a 24% decrease in reports compared to the same period last year. While total number of reports are down, reports involving losses have increased significantly.

The $174.8 million reported lost is a 26% increase compared to the first half of 2024. There has been a 40.5% increase in reports involving losses and this is higher for some demographic groups: about 44% among individuals who speak English as a second language, and 55.3% for First Nations Australians compared to the same period in 2024.

The 2025 losses still represent but a 39% decrease compared to the equivalent period in 2023. Financial losses to scams peaked in 2022 and early 2023. The average reported loss was $12,212 – a decrease of about 10%.

Losses to phishing scams were $19.5 million in 2025, driven in part by a rise in cryptocurrency impersonation scams. 14,235 reports involved losses to crypto scams. These scams closely mirror bank impersonation tactics and have resulted in significant financial harm to victims.

The National Anti-Scam Centre encourages consumers to be particularly vigilant when shopping online – carefully scrutinise deals that seem too good to be true, and check websites before making a purchase.

Scamwatch received more than 6,300 reports of financial loss to shopping scams in the first half of 2025: the highest of any scam type. Scamwatch data shows that scammers achieved this by creating convincing online shopping platforms, advertising fraudulent products and luring consumers with deals that appear too good to pass up.