Aussie scams: Vodafone’s new report exposes this massive problem

With over 80% of Australians having fallen victim to an SMS scam, and almost three quarters having been hit by phone fraudsters, Vodafone’s first State of Scams (SOS) Report is a sobering read.

Vodafone’s SOS Report (encapsulated in this article and the infographics below) lifts the lid on Australia’s big scam problem, showing SMS and phone crooks are relentlessly targeting Australians from all walks of life to swindle their hard-earned cash.

The company’s Australian General Counsel and General Manager of Corporate Security, Simone Sant said: “It doesn’t matter where you come from or your generation, fraudsters sending scam SMS and making scam calls are defrauding Australians every day.

“You don’t need to fall for an elaborate scheme and lose thousands of dollars to be scammed. In fact, most people lose anywhere between $10 to $49 per scam.

“Our SOS Report is a wake-up call to remind Australia that scams are widespread and can affect anyone. It is more crucial than ever for Australians to stay vigilant and be aware of the common tricks used by these scammers.”

The report also notes the most common financial loss from scammers was between $10-$49 with 44% of respondents falling into this category. Losses of between $50-$99 per scam affected 14% of respondents, and the highest losses of $10,000 or more, impacted 2% of respondents.

Despite successful scams being a widespread problem across the nation, the SOS Report found 75% of victims are not reporting the fraudulent activity to police and just 41% report scams to the ACCC’s Scamwatch.

Sant continued: “Keeping our customers safe and secure is a key priority at Vodafone, but to be successful we need a cross-sector approach including government, law enforcement and industry to raise awareness so consumers know when to hang up on scammers. We encourage Australians to report all fraudulent activity to Scamwatch and local authorities.”

Vodafone reports having upgraded its scam-busting capabilities in recent years by implementing tools to help identify scam traffic and work to then block it.

By deploying user-enabled rulesets and artificial intelligence, Vodafone’s security systems have blocked more than 38.8 million scam text messages since the start of 2023 and almost six million scam phone calls.

These controls help stem the flow of scams from reaching customers, but Vodafone’s SOS Report shows relentless SMS and phone fraudsters are sneaking through to more than one third of Australians at least once a week, on average.

Vodafone has developed a simple “3 S” approach to help consumers know when to hang up on suspicious calls and texts:

• Scrutinise: Be on the lookout for suspicious or unfamiliar numbers, names, or addresses.
• Strange: Stay alert to strange or unusual requests for financial and personal information.
• Seek: Seek out official phone numbers and websites when SMS or callers say they are from a specific organisation or company.

Vodafone’s SOS Report also tracked the most common scams targeting Australians. Its key findings include:

• More than half reported receiving scams attempting to gain personal information. Scammers trick victims into hand over banking or personal detail and then use these details to steal money.
• Almost half of the respondents said they were targeted by unexpected money scams. These involve the scammer telling a would-be victim they are entitled to money or valuable assets but must make upfront payments to access them.
• 42% of respondents were targeted by investment scams where the scammer steals money by tricking targets into fake investment opportunities.
• More than 1 in 3 received scams based on buying or selling goods. In this scam, a fake online store or classified ad pretends to sell products that don’t exist.
• Over a third were targeted with travel, prizes and lottery scams where the scammer tricks victims into giving money or personal details in return for a prize from a lottery, sweepstake or competition.

More information from Vodafone on scams is here.

Having almost been the victim of a scammer pretending to be from Vodafone, the company’s advice on this is timely and clear: If a customer receives a call, letter, email, text message or other suspicious communication that claims to be from Vodafone, please call us a call on 1300 650 410.

I would second that, and implore you to hang up on a scammer and contact the company in question from their publicly available customer support numbers from their official websites, if there really is an issue, their customer support people can confirm it.

Here are the infographic charts on a state-level breakdown for Australia, with the breakdown on a national basis posted above:

Age breakdown: