Australians report $3.6m in losses due to investment scams in July 2020
The number of reports about fraudulent investment schemes was 680 last month, with people from 25 to 34 years of age being the most active in submitting complaints about such scams.
Australians reported A$3.6 million in losses due to investment scams in July 2020, according to the latest data provided by Scamwatch, the body operated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
This marks a decline from the losses of $5.85 million in losses reported in June 2020. The number of reports about fraudulent investment schemes, however, rose to 680 last month, up from 582 in June 2020. People from 25 to 34 years of age being the most active in submitting complaints about such scams.
Since the start of the year, the amount of losses due to investment scams have reached A$34,103,547, with the number of reports lodged by Australians at 3,795. The biggest losses were reported by elderly people (those above 65 years of age).
Let’s note that investment scams remain at the top of all fraudulent schemes targeting Australians, according to amount of money lost followed by dating & romance scams, and threats to life & arrest.
Australians reported more than $61.6 million in losses due to fraudulent investment schemes in 2019. This marks a steep rise from a year earlier, when Australians reported $38.8 million in such losses.
The month with the biggest losses in 2019 was July, followed by August and December. The number of reports for the entire 2019 was 4,986, with those from 25 to 34 years of age being most active in complaining about investment fraud.
