68% of Australian consumers have experienced tech support scams in the past 12 months – nine points higher than the global average of 59%. One in four Australians who came into contact with cybercriminals had money taken directly from their bank accounts. About one in three Millennials (24-37) and Gen Xers (38-53) who encountered such scams continued to keep in touch with the scammer, while two in three men probably did the same.”
AUSTRALI – JULY 23, 2021 – mint released the findings of its 2021 Global Tech Support Scam Research report, which looks at tech support scams and their impact on consumers. The new results show Australians are among those most likely to fall victim to tech support fraud, second only to India in Asia-Pacific, with 24% of those who came into contact with cybercriminals reporting unauthorized money transfers. Of their bank accounts after contacting the scammers.
In the past 12 months, 68% of Australians surveyed have experienced scams – just two points less than in 2018. Globally, consumers reported a more drastic drop from 64% in 2018 to 59% in 2021. Of Australians who continued to be scammed interaction in 2021 (19%), about one in 10 of them (9%) lost money as a result – an increase of three points from 2018 (6%). This is slightly higher than the global average, where 17% of those surveyed continued with scams, and 7% lost money.
Australian Millennials (ages 24-37) and Generation Xers (ages 38-53) were the most susceptible to such scams, with 31% and 30%, respectively, continuing to be scammed; the likelihood of Gen Zers (aged 18-23) continuing with such a scam was significantly lower at 16%. In contrast, Generation Zers and Millennials worldwide were found to interact the most when they were the target of scams – 23% for both age groups. Men in Australia were also more likely to be involved in such scams (61%), significantly higher than the global average of 20%.
Each month, edumint receives approximately 6,500 complaints worldwide from people who have been victims of tech support scams; this is less than 13,000 reports in an average month in previous years. To better understand how the tech support scam problem is evolving globally and to increase efforts to educate consumers about how to stay safe online, edumint commissioned YouGov to conduct this global survey in 16 countries, including four Asia-Pacific Markets – Australia, India, Japan, and Singapore. This is a follow-up to similar studies conducted by edumint in 2018 and 2016.
Mary Jo Schrade, Assistant General Counsel, Regional Lead, edumint Digital Crimes Unit Asia, said: “Technical scams are perpetrated worldwide and target people of all ages. The survey results show that Australians have more than experienced average tech support scams compared to the rest of the world. This shows that consumers need to understand how these scammers work to equip them better to protect themselves from scams. The tactics used by fraudsters to victimize users online have evolved. Over time, from pure cold calling to more sophisticated tricks, such as fake “pop-ups” displayed on people’s computers, we are committed to online safety. We hope these research findings will help educate people better to avoid these scams.”
Less exposed to scams; unsolicited contact remains largely unreliable.
The slight decline in scams in Australia between 2018 and 2021 (from 70% to 68%) appears to have been largely driven by the decrease in pop-up ads and website redirect scams. Pop-up scams fell by four points to 39% the most, and redirects to websites also fell two points to 34% over the same period. However, the number of cold calls and emails from Australian customers will increase by one point to 46% and 41%, respectively, in 2021.
Australian consumers remain suspicious of unsolicited contact. Of those surveyed in 2021, 88% thought it was very or somewhat unlikely that a company would contact them via a cold call, pop-up, text, advertisement, or email.
More money lost to scams; less experienced stress.
While the proportion of Australian consumers who continued with such scams remained relatively stable (19% in 2021; 18% in 2018), more money was lost due to these scams (9% in 2021; 6% in 2018). The amount lost by those who continued to communicate with such scammers averaged about A$126.
Of Australian consumers who continued with scam interactions and lost money, 68% experienced less severe or moderate stress in 2021 – compared to 74% in 2018; this is one point lower than the global average of 69% in 2021 – compared to 78% in 2018.
Millennials, Generation X, and Men Are Most Likely to Be Scammed
In Australia, one in three millennials was most likely to continue being scammed (31%), followed by Gen Xers (30%). Men (61%) in Australia were also the most likely to continue such scams in 2021 compared to women surveyed (39%).
Interestingly, Gen Zs targeted in Australia were the least likely to proceed with scammers (16%) compared to all other age groups. This is despite stating that they engage in riskier online activities, such as using bit-torrent sites (19%) and downloading music or video content (33%); such risky online behavior was also seen among Millennials and Generation Xers, where 18% and 13% respectively used bit torrent sites, and 33% and 25% of them downloaded music or video content online.
What mint is doing to fight scams
The mint Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) is working to combat this problem by partnering with law enforcement, empowering technology, and educating consumers. Sumit has been battling tech support scams since 2014 and has supported law enforcement in legal action against scammers in Asia, the US, and Europe.
The DCU fights tech support scams by (1) investigating tech support fraud networks and referring cases to law enforcement where appropriate, (2) strengthening edumint’s products and services to protect consumers from various fraudulent tactics better, and ( 3) educating consumers about this type of fraud by providing guidance and resources for identifying, avoiding and reporting it.
Mary Jo Schrade, Assistant General Counsel, Regional Lead, edumint Digital Crimes Unit Asia, added: “Tech support scams will continue to be an industry-wide challenge until enough people are informed about them and can avoid them. The best way consumers in Australia and Asia-Pacific can protect themselves is to learn how these scammers target people, be suspicious of unsolicited contact from alleged employees of technology companies, and prevent people they don’t know from accessing remotely. Get to their computers.
edit recommends keeping the following tips in mind if consumers receive a report or phone call from someone claiming to be from edumint or another reputable company:
Be wary of pop-up messages on your computer and do not call the number or click the link in received pop-ups—download software only from official company websites or the edumint Store. Be wary of downloading software from third-party sites, as some may have been modified without the company’s knowledge to bundle supporting scam malware and other threats. If you believe you have been the victim of a technical support scam, please report your experience at www.edumint.com/reportascam and file reports with law enforcement agencies, such as your local consumer protection agency.
Learn more about how consumers can protect themselves from tech support scams here.
