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West Australians are losing an increasing amount of money to scams, with a new record of nearly $16 million in 2022.
Key points:
- Romance and cryptocurrency scams accounted for the bulk of the losses
- Remote access and online shopping fraud was also on the rise
- The amount lost to scams in WA has nearly doubled since 2017
The bulk of the losses were attributed to scams involving cryptocurrencies, accounting for almost $7 million of stolen funds, while $2 million was lost to romance scams.
But there are many other types of scams, and they're getting more elaborate.
Chris Litchfield said a person claiming to be from the National Broadband Network (NBN) drained almost $100,000 from his bank account, describing the sum as "an eye-watering amount of money".
"[It happened] about several months ago when I answered a telephone call, purportedly from the NBN, inquiring whether I was having any trouble with my internet speeds," he said.
"As it happened, I was.
"They said, 'look, it's easy, just type in speedtest.com, that's all you have to do'."
Scammers took control of computer
After Mr Litchfield did so, graphs and other information appeared on his screen, and a woman asked him questions about his download speed.
He was assured the 'problem' could be 'fixed' remotely, as long as he kept the landline open.
Mr Litchfield said those involved in the scam tried to ensure he remained at his home in Daglish for as long as possible, and he did so, for days.
He said they may have even organised for two men posing as technicians to appear in the street at a specified time.
"Sure enough, at about one o'clock a white van pulls up outside my place, two men get out in what looked like NBN uniforms and then they disappeared.
"I went out and checked the van and sure enough, it had all what you might consider telecommunications equipment in it."
Made to feel like a prisoner in own home
Mr Litchfield said those on the phone assured him the 'technicians' were working at a junction box, and claimed that cabling needed fixing.
After several days, Mr Litchfield said he felt like he was a prisoner in his own home.
"Friday comes and by this time, I've had enough and I just said, 'look, I'm going out'."
The scammers asked him to keep the landline open while he was gone.
"I needed to go to the bank, I went to the bank and I was given a statement and that's where we discovered that $100,000 approximately has been taken."
Each transaction was just under $10,000 to avoid attracting the attention of the bank and were withdrawn twice a day over five days, totalling $99,416.
"I'm told in very blunt terms, the money's been paid out through bill-pay to a Westpac bank account, and it's all gone, bad luck."
Seniors 'targeted' by swindlers
Mr Litchfield said he always thought he was aware of swindlers and what they could do.
But he said seniors were often targeted, and he recommended any offers or claims made over the phone should be backed up with writing.
"Banks are rushing headlong towards digitisation and artificial intelligence and these sorts of scams are only going to increase because Australia has not got a very good track record of cyber security.
"Vigilance is everything."
The 72-year-old, who had a $1,000 transaction limit on the account, said he was still seeking answers from the Bank of Queensland.
'Remote access scams' on the rise
Mr Litchfield was the victim of what was known as a remote access scam, which claimed 60 victims in WA in 2022, a significant increase on the previous year.
While investment scams made up the largest amount of financial losses, the number of victims was at 155, dwarfed by 274 victims who fell victim to online shopping scams.
Commerce Minister Sue Ellery said the increase in online shopping and activity during the pandemic had helped drive the higher losses in WA in 2022.
"Which is why we've got to talk about this more," she said.
"We need to be reminding people to practice the pause because the ease, the convenience, and the swiftness of living your life using online services, and using your phone is fantastic.
"But there's a flip side to that, and the flip side is you need to be wary of people trying to take advantage.
"Human beings will always find a way to do the wrong thing."
Losses double in five years
The biggest reported single losses in WA were $800,000 to a romance scam in May 2022, and $732,000 to phishing in April.
ScamNet's Year in Review shows since 2017, the amount lost in WA has nearly doubled, from $8.1 million to $15,988,513 in 2022.
In one year, 2020, the total amount lost actually dropped, by two million although the number of victims went up.
Since then, with the advent of the pandemic and more people spending more time at home, significant funds have been stolen.
In 2022, females accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the victims of reported scams, and almost 70 per cent of the total amount lost.
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