Westpac has lifted the lid on the scam hotspots of South Australia, with two local towns featuring in the top ten.
Outer suburbs like Morphett Vale, Happy Valley and Craigmore made up the top three, however Murray Bridge and Encounter Bay featured sixth and seventh for scam reports across the state.
The top scam types driving the largest losses are investment scams, followed by business email compromise scams, remote access scams, romance scams and impersonation scams.
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The data also reveals 61 to 75-year-olds reported the highest number of scams, which accounted for almost one third (32%) of all reported cases.
Westpac’s tips to help protect yourself from scammers
- Never give out your personal or financial information to anyone you don’t know or trust.
- Don’t click on links or open attachments in unsolicited emails, text messages, or social media messages.
- Do your research before buying anything online and check the seller’s reputation and reviews.
- Always phone a company to check the payment details are correct before paying an invoice.
- Be wary of offers that sound too good to be true.
- Don’t send money or gift cards to someone you’ve never met in person, no matter how convincing their story is.
- Phone a family member or friend if you’re unsure about anything.
