Anne Stanley MP

Government Whip

Member for Werriwa

Government To Crackdown on Scams

Every day, scammers are ripping money out the pockets of hard-working Australians, and the Albanese Government is fighting back.

People across the Werriwa community have no doubt experienced the persistent calls, texts, and social media accounts attempting to scam them out of money.

That is why today we are announcing a $86.5 million package to combat scams and online fraud, headlined by the establishment of a world-leading National Anti-Scams Centre (NASC).

Australians lost over $3 billion to scams in 2022 alone, and scam losses have increased nearly five-fold since 2020. The average loss from a scam is around $20,000. The average household has about $34,000 in savings.

The NASC will be the Government’s primary weapon to detect, disrupt and deter scammers and tackle online fraud. In a world-leading partnership between government agencies, banks, telcos and digital platforms, the NASC will: 

• combine the expertise of Government and the private sector to disrupt scams;
• use cutting-edge technology to share intelligence across Government and with authorised industry participants to interrupt scams in real time; and
• raise consumer awareness on the risk of scams and how to avoid them.

This means that the people of Werriwa will be able to look to a trusted, centralised point within Government for information and education to protect themselves from scams.

It is more important than ever that the Werriwa community is alert to scams and are aware of how to protect themselves.

Quotes attributable to Member for Werriwa, Ms Anne Stanley MP:

“Our community and local businesses will be more protected from scammers than ever before with the establishment of the National Anti-Scams Centre.

“Every day, scammers are ripping money out the pockets of hard-working Australians. The Government is fighting back.

“If an offer seems too good to be true or suspicious, it probably is.

“If you or anyone you know receive a suspicious call, text or email take these steps to protect yourself:

• Stop – take your time before giving money or personal information.
• Think – ask yourself if the message or call could be fake?
• Protect – act quickly if something feels wrong. Contact your bank and report scams to Scamwatch.”

Media Contact:

Alaa Ahmad (02) 8783 0977