Scams Awareness Week is an annual opportunity for Australian government agencies and businesses to work together and provide a cohesive public awareness campaign.

Scams Awareness Week is an initiative of the Scams Awareness Network, a group of Australian and New Zealand government agencies with responsibility for consumer protection and policing in scams, cyber safety and fraud. We aim to reduce the  impact of scams by raising awareness and encouraging the public to talk about scams and report them.

Scams Awareness Week 2019 – 12- 16 August

This campaign aims to engage target audiences by asking: ‘Too smart to be scammed?’ Australians are urged to test whether they can spot a scam or are likely to fall victim to a scam. There are countless types of scams, with new scams constantly emerging. While scammers are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, people often believe they would never fall victim. Many Australians believe they could confidently spot a scam, or believe they would know what to do if they were targeted. Often it is this sense of  confidence that scammers target and it makes everyone vulnerable.

Further information and reading

• www.scamwatch.gov.au – a reliable source of information on scams and a place to report scams
• The impact of scams
• How scammers work
• What to look for
• How to protect yourself
• Where to seek help

Source: Information is provided by Australian Competition & Consumer Commission