Australians reported a $2.18 billion in financial losses to scams throughout 2025, according to the latest figures released by the National Anti-Scam Centre.
While this represents a 7.8% increase from the previous year, the data highlights a 29.7% decline since the 2022 peak of $3.1 billion, suggesting that heightened public awareness and a coordinated crackdown are beginning to yield results.
A comprehensive data set compiled from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, IDCARE, and ASIC revealed that 481,523 total reports were filed.
Of these, 274,577 cases involved direct financial harm.
Investment scams remains the most devastating category, draining $837.7 million from victims, followed by payment redirection ($166.8 million), romance ($139.9 million), phishing ($97.6 million), and remote access scams ($69.9 million).
Collectively, these five methods accounted for 60% of all reported losses.
The findings coincide with a global push for security, as Australia and G7 nations recently endorsed a call to action to combat fraud at the United Nations and Interpol Global Fraud Summit.
Over 100 organisations have joined a new Public Private Partnership Framework to disrupt international syndicates.
ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe described the crisis as a "wicked problem," noting that scams are increasingly complex and fast-evolving.
"The report highlights the collaboration and shared accountability needed to tackle the harm caused by scams both here in Australia and globally," Lowe stated.