TEXTING SCAMS on the rise!

AUSSIES ARE BEING TARGETED BY A DELUGE OF BOGUS MESSAGES

- Brigid Auchettl

Australians have been told to be on high alert for dodgy text messages and phone calls after close to 100 people reported losing their life savings to scammers.

According to statistics released by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Aussies have been conned out of more than $96 million since January 2023, with phone scams alone accounting for over $19 million lost.

“Following recent mass data breaches, many Australians were encouraged to monitor their accounts for suspicious activity. Sadly, this has led to consumers acting on these scam calls and text messages out of fear that their accounts have been compromised,” ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe explains.

One of the most prevalent tricks is the notorious ‘Hi Mum’ text scam. It sees fraudsters sending a text message pretending to be their target’s child.