Australian Centre for Cyber Security

With an increasingly high volume of reported scam incidents, Australians are focusing hard on cyber security. The threat is real, every day, and should be front and centre both personally and professionally.

Got an ABN? Visit the ‘Small and medium businesses’ tab at cyber.gov.au, which has a raft of assessment and support options, including the Cyber Security Assessment Tool. It was developed by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources to help improve cyber security skills among Australian small and medium businesses.

With the assessment tool, you can:

■ identify the cyber security strengths of your business;

■ understand areas where your business can improve; and

■ know how to improve your cyber security and where to find help.

More information: 

• digitaltools.business.gov.au/jfe/form/SV_0dnd9cF15I8 LnH8?ref=acsc
  
  

Scams

ACA asked Scamwatch to share with us educational resources to help stop scamming.

Scammers are continually developing new ways to catch people out. We need to increase our vigilance in checking for those little clues that can alert us that something is a scam.

Scams cost Australian consumers and businesses, and the economy, hundreds of millions of dollars each year and cause serious emotional harm to victims and their families.

In 2021, Australians made more than 286,600 reports to Scamwatch and reported losses of around A$324 million. By the end of August 2022, Australians had lost even more, with reported losses of over A$381 million.

As alarming as these numbers are, we know that around one-third of people who are scammed never tell anyone, so the true numbers are likely much higher.

Visit scamwatch.gov.au during Scams Awareness Week (7 to 11 November annually) for more information and tips on how to protect yourself from scams.

Scamwatch tools and resources

The Scamwatch and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission websites contain a range of tools and resources about scams:

In 2021, Australians made more than 286,600 reports to Scamwatch and reported losses of around A$324 million. By the end of August 2022, Australians had lost even more, with reported losses of over A$381 million.

■ Scamwatch Report Form: if you’ve come across a scam, you can report it using this form (scamwatch.gov.au/report-ascam);

■ Scamwatch reporting statistics: provides up-to-date statistics on scams reported by Australians (scamwatch.gov.au/scamstatistics);

■ Targeting scams reports: yearly report on scam trends and statistics (accc.gov.au/publications/targeting-scamsreport-on-scam-activity/targeting-scams-report-of-theaccc-on-scam-activity-2020);

■ Helping a friend or family member who is a victim to a scam: useful information if someone close to you has been scammed (scamwatch.gov.au/get-help/help-a-family-member);

■ Be safe, be alert online: information on organisations who may be able to help when someone has been scammed (accc.gov.au/publications/besafe-be-alert-online);

■ Where else to get help: other organisations who might be able to help when someone has fallen victim to a scam (scamwatch.gov.au/get-help/where-to-get-help); and

■ The little black book of scams: information on identifying a scam, available digitally in a range of languages (accc.gov.au/publications/the-little-blackbook-of-scams).