Australians have been swindled out of $186.9 million in the first months of 2026, with scammers deploying increasingly sophisticated tactics — including artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes — even as the overall volume of reported scam activity shows signs of easing.
Figures from Scamwatch show losses so far this year are tracking below the same period in 2025, when roughly $210 million had been reported stolen. Total losses across all of last year reached approximately $335 million.
Investment and Romance Scams Leading the Toll
Of the money lost to online scams in 2026, investment fraud has proven the most damaging, stripping Australians of nearly $96 million between January and August. Romance scams ranked second, accounting for $17.7 million in losses, while account takeovers and identity theft cost victims a further $16.5 million.
Investment scams are increasingly harnessing AI technology to produce convincing deepfake images and videos featuring well-known and trusted public figures, lending false credibility to fraudulent schemes. Scammers have also been observed building relationships with targets over several months before making any request for money — a slow-burn approach designed to maximise trust before the sting.
In a further sign of how brazen the tactics have become, there are reports of criminals hacking into legitimate websites to substitute contact phone numbers, setting up victims for invoice phishing attacks.
Experts Urge a 'Sniff Test' Approach to Online Offers
ANZ bank's cyber services lead Erica Hardinge says the most important defence any individual has is their own critical thinking. She urges Australians to pause before acting on anything that seems unusual or too rewarding.
"It's really important that individuals go away and do their research themselves, and don't trust immediately what you see online," Hardinge said. "Does this feel too good to be true? Does this feel particularly unusual?"
She says scammers frequently use manufactured urgency to push people into hasty decisions, and that consciously breaking that emotional pressure is essential. "Breaking of the emotional response that often comes with these requests is incredibly important," she said.
Hardinge also warned Australians to think carefully about what personal information they share online. "Everything you put online is like a digital tattoo," she said. "It's very hard to remove it once it's out."
On the systemic side, Hardinge pointed to progress driven by banks, industry, and government — including the introduction of identification checks that flag mismatches between account names and numbers before transfers are completed. The federal government's national Scams Prevention Framework is due to take effect from March 2027, and Hardinge said the downward trend in losses reflects genuine investment in detection and prevention technology.
Younger Australians More Exposed Than They Realise
While older Australians have traditionally been considered the most vulnerable to scams, data from ING suggests millennials and Gen Z are increasingly in the crosshairs. Their higher rates of online shopping, investing and managing side-hustles mean they face greater exposure — yet many are operating with surprisingly poor digital hygiene.
According to ING's data, more than half of younger Australians reuse the same password across multiple sites, almost three in five use passwords that are considered weak, and one in three don't pause to think before clicking a link.
ING's consumer and market insights head Matt Bowen says digital fluency does not equal scam awareness. "Don't just assume that because you're digitally native or digitally active means that you're good at spotting a scam," he said. "Actually, you're more exposed than ever."
Bowen also stressed the importance of speaking openly after being targeted, saying shame is a barrier that benefits only the criminals. "Don't be afraid to actually share when you've been tripped up by a scam — it's super prevalent," he said. "The more we talk about it, the more prepared everyone can be."
With regulatory frameworks strengthening and awareness growing, the trajectory of scam losses is moving in the right direction — but experts agree that individual vigilance remains the first and most critical line of defence against online scams.
