New data reveals which areas in Australia are most targeted by scammers

New data has revealed the areas in Australia most targeted by scammers as Australians report losing $183m to cybercriminals this year alone.

Westpac research found the postcodes with the highest number of reported scams Australia-wide were in NSW and Victoria, while the rate of scams per capita was highest in Western Australia and Queensland that reported 3.6 and 3.5 scams per 1000 customers.

The data shows scammers have the biggest impact in communities with increasing economic activity and ageing populations.

The most scammed postcodes across the nation were in fast-growing suburbs such as Liverpool, Campbelltown and Gosford in NSW as well as Tarneit and Werribee in the western suburbs of Melbourne.

In Queensland, areas such as Surfers Paradise, Southport and Nerang were more prone to scammers as well as Cairns and Toowoomba in the north.

In WA, Mandurah recorded the most scams, followed by Armadale, Hamilton Hill, Lansdale and Geraldton.

Morphett Vale, Happy Valley, Craigmore, Salisbury and Mount Gambier reported the most amount of scams in SA.

In the ACT, MacGregor, Belconnen, Coombs, Ngunnawal and Lyneham were areas in the nation’s capital more prone to scams.

Westpac urged Australians to be alert for scams, with criminals increasingly exploiting high growth locations and older customers in suburbs across the nation.

Westpac head of fraud prevention Ben Young warned all Australians to be wary because scammers did not let location limit what they do, with scams in all corners of the country.

Mr Young said scams reported to the bank were from the fast-growing suburbs of Western Sydney, where there was a new hub of economic activity, to the tourist centre of Surfers Paradise and Western Australia.

“The current scam-demic we’re facing is widespread,” he said.

“We’re finding scammers are having the biggest impact in communities with increasing economic activity or those with ageing populations.”

The data also revealed people aged 61 to 75 years old reported the highest number of scams, accounting for about 32 per cent of all reported cases.

The top scam types driving the largest losses were investment scams, followed by business email compromise scams, remote access scams, romance scams and impersonation scams.

“Scammers aren’t necessarily out there stalking the streets of these postcodes,” Mr Young said.

“They’re constantly evolving the way they target people, with many scams originating online or on social media platforms.

“This includes investment scams which account for around 50 per cent of all losses as well as various buying and selling scams which evolve with the latest trends.

“These scams need to be shut down at the source.”