Australians report losses of $2.14m due to investment scams in Jan 2020

Source: FinanceFeeds 2020-02-10

Individuals from 25 to 34 years of age suffered the biggest losses, whereas those 35-44 years of age submitted the highest number of reports.

The latest data from Scamwatch, the body operated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), shows that Australians reported $2,144,311 lost due to investment scams in January 2020.

This compares with $7.4 million in losses due to fraudulent investment schemes in December 2019 and $1.08 million in such losses reported in January 2019.

During the first month of 2020, individuals from 25 to 34 years of age suffered the biggest losses as a result of investment fraud, whereas those 35-44 years of age submitted the highest number of reports.

Statistics for January 2020. Source: Scamwatch.

As you can see from the picture above, fraudulent investment schemes, followed by dating & romance scams and threats to life & arrest were the top three scams in Australia in January 2020. Scamwatch has issued a warning regarding the recent rise in romance scams, which is barely surprising in light of approaching Feb 14.

Let’s recall that Australians reported more than $61.6 million in losses due to fraudulent investment schemes for 2019. This marks a steep rise from a year earlier, when Australians reported $38.8 million in such losses.

The month with the biggest losses in 2019 was July, followed by August and December. The number of reports for the entire 2019 was 4,986, with those from 25 to 34 years of age being most active in complaining about investment fraud.

CCC

Australians report losses of $2.14m due to investment scams in Jan 2020

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