Australians still struggle to spot & respond to scams safely
New research by Optus has found that scam communications remain widespread in Australia, with many citizens struggling to identify or respond safely to potential scams.
The survey of more than 1,000 Australians reported that nearly 80% of respondents had encountered scam communications over the past three months, rising to 90% within the past year. Despite this high exposure, 70% said they felt uninformed about the steps to take if they were targeted or affected by a scam.
Scam response shortcomings
Findings from the survey indicate that many individuals are unsure how best to respond when approached by potential scammers. Approximately 73% of those surveyed said they did not know how to minimise the impact after being scammed. Only 8.1% reported they would contact official agencies such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), ScamWatch, or similar government bodies when they believed they had been scammed. Meanwhile, just 2.1% would verify the information in a suspicious message as their first response.
One of the more concerning discoveries was that around one in five respondents admitted to actions that would directly increase their scam risk, such as not asking for sender details or transferring money to unverified accounts. Among parents, nearly 30% said they would respond to an SMS purporting to come from their child's daycare by transferring money to new account details without ensuring the legitimacy of the request.
Vulnerable demographics
The research highlights several demographic trends in scam susceptibility. Respondents under the age of 30 were identified as the most likely to answer calls from unknown numbers, while Australians over the age of 71 expressed a strong level of confidence in their ability to identify scams, with 83.2% saying they felt prepared. Despite this confidence, this older age group remains the most affected, accounting for 40.8% of scam victims.
Business confidence in addressing scams also appears low; only 36% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) believed they could identify scam attempts effectively.
Close to half of respondents (47.9%) indicated that they do not use any scam protection tool, leaving them potentially exposed to fraudulent activity.
Scam protection tools and current trends
According to Optus, its scam-filtering services, including Call Stop and ScamWise, have blocked significant volumes of attempted scam activity. During the period from April to June 2025, the network intercepted 33.8 million potential scam calls and 6 million scam SMS. Across the year, this equates to 72.5 million scam calls and 11.7 million scam SMS prevented from reaching users.
ScamWise has identified trending scam types for 2025 as including fraudulent payment activity, incorrect address or package delivery notifications, job offers, and false communications purporting to be from government agencies.
Expert advice
Associate Professor at the University of South Australia and Optus Chair of Cyber Security and Data Science, Mamello Thinyane, provided the following advice: "Always verify. Make sure you verify who you are communicating with - request a piece of information which the person would know. Instead of following a link, type the URL and confirm it belongs to the right organisation.
Pay attention and maintain focus. Keep an eye on information overload and attempts to distract you. If it doesn't feel right or make sense, trust your instinct. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Take your time and make considered decisions. If you feel rushed into making a decision, don't make it.
Put in place standard online hygiene practices. Do not click unknown suspicious links, do not share your credentials with anyone, implement multi-factor authentication on your accounts, use a password manager and remember, the person at the end of the line could be a cybercriminal."
Gaps in awareness
The survey results underline a continuing gap in public knowledge regarding scam avoidance and response, even as fraudulent techniques become more sophisticated. With only a minority seeking advice from official sources or taking steps to verify suspicious communications, experts warn that consistent vigilance, education, and better online habits remain critical for individuals and organisations alike.
