ISCOVER
As Scam Awareness Week draws to a close today, common finance scams – and how to avoid them – have been revealed.
Several banks, regulators, and industry bodies have urged customers and brokers to be alert to the risks of scams as part of Scams Awareness Week.
Running from 25–29 August this year, Scams Awareness Week is an annual initiative between government, business, community groups, consumer protection groups, educational organisations, and individuals to promote awareness of scams.
The week revealed a range of common finance scams that are targeting Australian consumers.
According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), consumers are being “bombarded” by investment scam ads and websites using the images of well-known Australian identities.
The growing threat has prompted the regulator to ramp up its takedown capability, shutting down more than 330 investment scam websites that use celebrity images so far in 2025, a 25 per cent increase year on year. The takedown capability was especially active in July, when scammers potentially sought to take advantage of consumer interest in finance with the start of the new financial year.
As part of the scheme, ASIC warned that scammers are increasingly exploiting the concept of “social proof” by deliberately misusing images of trusted public figures to promote investment schemes that are actually scams.
Separate research from property exchange PEXA found that 97 per cent of Australians who have bought property in the last year or intend to buy in the next failed to spot dangerous scam markers in property transaction emails, despite most believing they could identify fraud attempts.
PEXA this week released a new white paper, Safeguarding your Property Settlement: Awareness and Prevention of Scams, which details how settlement scams have become one of the most financially devastating forms of cyber crime in Australia and the steps home buyers and sellers can take to mitigate risks.
Unlike a fraudulent credit card transaction, money lost to scammers in a property transaction can be much more difficult to recoup, the white paper stated.
PEXA added that increased awareness and more advanced technology, such as secure settlement tools, can help people reduce the risk of falling victim to scammers.
New tools to tackle scams
To coincide with Scams Awareness Week, the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) launched a guide to help its members strengthen their scam prevention practices, while also offering practical tips to prepare and protect their customers from scammers.
The guide sets out the key steps to take if a scam takes place and explains where and how scams can be reported.
The MFAA resource, What to do if you’ve been scammed, outlined common types of scams affecting brokers and their clients, including payment redirection, email interception, and impersonation scams.
Brokers are a potential target for scammers, the MFAA warned, due to the position of trust they hold, along with the sensitive financial and personal information they manage.
The threat of scams means brokers need to know how to protect themselves, the association outlined, including the action needed if they are targeted and how to support customers who have been affected.
MFAA CEO Anja Pannek said the resource will be invaluable for the association’s members.
“Working with our members, we frequently hear a broker only discovers a scam when their client has flagged a concern – and this is after financial loss has happened,” she said.
“What to do if you’ve been scammed will help brokers be ready. It will help our members not only identify and respond to scams but, more importantly, implement practical steps to protect their business, their clients’ data, and reduce the likelihood of being scammed in the first place.”
Banks on board for Scams Awareness Week
Major lender Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ) reported a 15 per cent drop in customer losses to scam activity between October 2024 and June 2025.
ANZ said customers were increasingly embracing tools and features to help keep their finances safe, while also becoming more scam-aware.
Fellow big four lender National Australia Bank (NAB) on Tuesday (26 August) hosted NAB’s Big Scam Educational Conversation, a webinar focused on educating customers on the most common scams to be aware of and the best ways to protect themselves from scammers.
This week, NAB also announced a new measure to help protect customers from fraud and scams.
New customers will be asked to take a selfie when opening an account or product online. The initiative is aimed at reducing fraud, such as identity theft.
In addition, customers must scan their identification document, like a driver’s licence or passport and hold their mobile phone up to their face to match the image.
The initiative will begin rolling out across select products in September, with further expansion to additional products and account types planned over the coming months.
[Related: Interest rate cut sparks rise in scam risk, ANZ warns]
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