In 2021, Australians lost more than $2 billion to scammers — a figure that’s expected to double in 2022.
That alarming fact opens the first episode of Anatomy of Scam, a new podcast series presented by Commonwealth Bank and Nine Entertainment and hosted by journalist Deborah Knight.
In the eight-part series, Ms Knight will expose how scammers target people, and interview cyber security and law enforcement experts about how to recognise and prevent scams. She’ll also talk to real scam victims, who share their stories to warn others.
“Education is the key,” Ms Knight explains. “Understanding how scams work is the best way to recognise them and avoid them. We have to learn to protect ourselves.”
Detective Superintendent Matt Craft runs the New South Wales Police Cybercrime Squad and, in the first episode of Anatomy of Scam, shares his insights about scams in Australia.
“We cannot arrest our way out of scams — education is key,” he reiterates. “Scams impact all Australians, the old, the young, the rich, the poor.”
Ms Knight also talks to Katherine Manstead, Director of Cyber Intelligence at CyberCX, who busts the myth that “all hackers wear hoodies”.
“It's amazing the type of criminals that we come across in this business,” says Ms Manstead. “It is big business, it is a global economy. And a lot of them aren't your traditional hackers, their business isn't hacking computers or hacking systems. It's hacking you. They're social engineers who try to play people to make money.”
The episode also delves into what can make us vulnerable to scams with Troy Hunt, a regional vice president at Microsoft and founder of data breach aggregator Have I Been Pwned?.
“We are subject to all of these emotions that scammers take advantage of,” he says. “We're subject to fear, to curiosity, to urgency. All of these things are exploited by attackers.”
Listen to Anatomy of a Scam on your preferred podcast app, and to find out more about how we’re protecting your accounts, visit: commbank.com.au/safe
