Scams Awareness Week is an annual campaign that aims to reduce the impact of scams by helping consumers identify and avoid scams. This year’s theme is ‘How to spot a scam’.

Scams cost Australian consumers, businesses and the economy hundreds of millions of dollars each year and cause serious emotional harm to victims and their families. In 2021, combined scam losses reported to Scamwatch, banks and other government agencies was $1.8 billion. One third of victims do not report scams, so actual losses were well over $2 billion.

In 2022 so far, losses reported to Scamwatch have increased by around 100% suggesting we are looking at losses of around $4 billion this year. Scamwatch have received over 146,700 reports with more than $381.2 million in total losses, and that’s just between 1st January and 31st August 2022.

This Scams Awareness Week, Neighbourhood Watch SA (NHW) will be supporting SAPOL’s involvement in the campaign by sharing their scam prevention hints and tips across our NHW platforms.

There'll be a focus on a different scam type each day of the week which includes:

• Online Investments
• Online Market Place
• Gift cards
• Family Impersonation
• Online safety

Keep an eye on the Neighbourhood Watch Facebook page and SAPOL Facebook page to see all the scam prevention hints and tips!