Scammers stole $38.8 million from Australia’s culturally and linguistically various (CALD) communities in 2024, with victims struggling increased median losses than the final inhabitants, in response to the most recent Concentrating on Scams report by the Nationwide Anti-Rip-off Centre.
The report, which analysed information from Scamwatch, revealed that whereas CALD communities accounted for 11,666 rip-off experiences, the monetary influence was disproportionately extreme. The median loss for CALD reporters was $1,000—double the $500 median loss throughout all Scamwatch experiences.
Key Findings:
- Funding scams had been the most expensive, with CALD victims shedding $19.5 million.
- Menace-based scams had the very best particular person losses, with a median of $50,000 per sufferer.
- CALD communities represented simply 5.8% of threat-based rip-off experiences however bore 54.1% of the full losses for this class.
Catriona Lowe, Deputy Chair of the ACCC, emphasised the significance of focused consciousness: “Scammers exploit vulnerabilities, together with language obstacles. We urge everybody to share assets of their communities to assist spot and keep away from scams.”
Multilingual Assets Obtainable
To fight these traits, Scamwatch affords info in 22 languages, together with:
For non-English audio system, scams might be reported through the Translating and Decoding Service (TIS) by calling 131 450 and requesting to attach with Scamwatch.
Defend Your self: Cease. Verify. Defend.
Scamwatch encourages all Australians to:
- STOP earlier than responding to sudden requests.
- CHECK for crimson flags (e.g., urgency, fee calls for).
- PROTECT private and monetary particulars.
Go to https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/stop-check-protect/in-your-language-scam-information for translated assets to share with household and buddies.
