The Australian Government established the National Anti-Scam Centre in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on 1 July 2023. The National Anti-Scam Centre and its partners in government, industry, law enforcement, and consumer organisations are collectively committed to making Australia a harder target for scammers and reducing the devastating financial and emotional harm caused by scams.

This is the first annual report on scams activity released by the National Anti-Scam Centre since it was established on 1 July 2023. This report provides insight into scams reported by Australians in 2023 and highlights the impact of government and private sector initiatives to combat scams.

In 2023, Australians made over 601,000 scam reports compared to the 507,000 in 2022 (an 18.5% increase in reports). It is encouraging to see the amount of financial loss decreased despite the increase in scam reports. This is a result of the concerted efforts of government (including through the establishment of a National Anti-Scam Centre), the private sector, law enforcement, and community organisations. These results demonstrate that coordinated scams prevention, detection and response initiatives can stem the flow of funds to criminals and protect Australians.