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Australians’ annual losses to scams have fallen for the first time in seven years as the government steps up its campaign to stop people being fleeced.
The insight comes in the annual Targeting Scams report, which shows $2.74 billion was lost to scams online, by phone or in person in 2023.
This figure is down from $3.15 billion in 2022, a 13% decrease, and comes after the National Anti-Scam Centre was launched in July 2023.
It marks the first time money lost annually from scams declined since 2016.
There was a drop of 21% in the second half of 2023 compared with the first six months.
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