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

People across Newcastle have experienced the persistent calls, texts, and social media accounts attempting to scam them out of money.

Today the Assistant Treasurer, Stephen Jones MP, will visit Newcastle for a community Scams Forum. The forum will be an opportunity for people to learn ways to protect themselves from scams, know what to do if they are targeted by a scam, and hear about the steps the government is taking to crackdown on this crime.  

Australians lost over $3 billion to scams in 2022 alone.

That is why the Government is implementing an ambitious anti-scam agenda to combat scams and protect Australians.

The first phase was standing up the National Anti-Scam Centre in July last year, which was part of an $86.5 million investment to fight scams and online fraud in the May Budget.

This announcement included:

• $58 million for the ACCC to establish the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC)
• $17.6 million for ASIC to bust fake investment websites that promote fake scams
• $10 million for ACMA to establish and enforce an SMS sender ID registry to stop scam texts

The Government’s crackdown on scams has already shown signs of success. In the six months since the NASC was created, reported losses to scams reduced by 29 per cent compared with the same period in 2022. 

By last week, ASIC had taken down 4,220 investment scam websites, with another 540 in the works.  And early data in 2024 shows overall scam losses reported are around 40% lower than the same period in 2023. 

The NASC means that the people of Newcastle can 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 Newcastle community is alert to scams and are aware of how to protect themselves.

Quotes attributable to Member for Newcastle:

“Our community and local businesses are 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 Novocatrians. 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”

THURSDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2024

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Martha Tattersall: 0487 807 987