Latest release
Statistics about personal fraud, including card fraud, identity theft, and scams (phishing, romance, computer support, financial advice and more).
Cite
Reference period
2022-23 financial year
Released
20/03/2024
Next release 2/04/2025
- Personal Fraud Reference Period 2021-22 financial year
- Personal Fraud Reference Period 2020-21 financial year
- Personal Fraud Reference Period 2014-15 financial year
- View all releases
Key statistics
In 2022-23:
- 8.7% of persons (1.8 million) experienced card fraud
- 2.5% of persons (514,300) experienced a scam
- 1.0% of persons (199,100) experienced identity theft
- 2.1% of persons (434,300) experienced online impersonation
Statistics discussed in the commentary refer to experiences which occurred in the 12 months prior to interview (conducted between July 2022 and June 2023), referred to as the 2022-23 reference period.
Any differences between population groups or reference periods described in the commentary are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.
For more information about statistical significance and relative standard error, refer to the Personal Fraud Methodology, 2022-23 financial year.
Card fraud involves the use of credit, debit, or EFTPOS card details to make purchases or withdraw cash without the account owner's permission.
Prevalence and time series
In 2022-23, an estimated 8.7% of persons (1.8 million) experienced card fraud, which was higher than the rate in 2021-22 (8.1%).
| Victimisation rate (%) | |
|---|---|
| 2020–21 | 6.9 |
| 2021–22 | 8.1 |
| 2022–23 | 8.7 |
- Victimisation rate refers to the number of persons who experienced card fraud in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all persons aged 15 years and over.
Females (9.5%) were more likely than males (7.8%) to experience card fraud.
The card fraud victimisation rate varied by age, ranging from 3.9% for persons aged 15 to 24 years, to 12% for persons aged 45 to 54 years.
| Age group (years) (%) | |
|---|---|
| 15—24 | 3.9 |
| 25—34 | 8.5 |
| 35—44 | 10.8 |
| 45—54 | 11.5 |
| 55—64 | 10.0 |
| 65 and over | 7.2 |
- Victimisation rate refers to the number of persons who experienced card fraud in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all persons in the relevant age group.
The following groups were more likely to experience card fraud:
- persons who are married (9.8%) compared with persons who are not married (7.1%)
- persons living in a capital city (9.1%) compared with persons living outside of a capital city (7.7%)
- persons who have a non-school qualification (such as a certificate, diploma, or degree) (10%) compared with persons who do not (6.3%)
- persons living in households in the highest quintile of equivalised weekly household income (11%) compared with persons living in households in all other income quintiles (ranging from 6.6% to 9.1%)
Characteristics of the most recent incident
Nearly all persons who experienced card fraud in 2022-23 notified (or were notified by) an authority about the most recent incident (98%), most commonly a bank or financial institution (92%).
| Reporting rate (%) | |
|---|---|
| Bank or financial institution | 92.4 |
| Credit card company | 14.0 |
| Police | 5.6 |
| Government organisation or department | 1.5 |
| Other | 2.7 |
| Incident not reported | 2.3 |
- Reporting rate refers to the total number of persons who reported the most recent incident of card fraud to an authority, expressed as a percentage of the total number of persons that experienced card fraud in the last 12 months.
- Includes cases where an authority notified the respondent of the incident.
- The most recent incident of card fraud may have been reported to more than one authority.
One in three persons (34%) had less than $100 withdrawn or used in the most recent incident of card fraud, while one in six (18%) had more than $1,000 withdrawn or used.
| Amount withdrawn or used (%) | |
|---|---|
| $1 to $100 | 33.8 |
| $101 to $500 | 31.2 |
| $501 to $1,000 | 11.5 |
| Over $1000 | 17.8 |
- A small number of persons did not know the amount that was withdrawn or used.
Financial loss
In the most recent incident of card fraud:
- the median amount withdrawn or used per incident was $200
- the gross amount withdrawn or used for all incidents was $2.2 billion
- the net loss after any reimbursem*nts paid for all incidents was $476 million
Scams
A scam is a fraudulent invitation, request, notification, or offer, designed to obtain personal information or money, or otherwise obtain a financial benefit by deceptive means.
In the context of the survey, experiencing a scam meant the person responded to a scam by seeking further information, providing money or personal information, or accessing links associated with the scam.
For definitions of specific scams, refer to theGlossary.
Prevalence and time series
In 2022-23, an estimated 2.5% of persons (514,300) experienced a scam, which was similar to the rate in 2021-22 (2.7%).
| Victimisation rate (%) | |
|---|---|
| 2020–21 | 3.6 |
| 2021–22 | 2.7 |
| 2022–23 | 2.5 |
- Victimisation rate refers to the number of persons who experienced a scam in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all persons aged 15 years and over.
Males (2.3%) and females (2.6%) experienced a scam at a similar rate.
The scam victimisation rate varied by age, with those aged 15 to 24 years and 25 to 34 years being less likely to experience a scam (1.5% and 1.8%) than older age groups.
| Age group (years) (%) | |
|---|---|
| 15—24 | 1.5 |
| 25—34 | 1.8 |
| 35—44 | 3.5 |
| 45—54 | 3.0 |
| 55—64 | 2.7 |
| 65 and over | 2.5 |
- Victimisation rate refers to the number of persons who experienced a scam in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all persons in the relevant age group.
In 2022-23, the most common type of scam people experienced was a buying or selling scam (1.0% or 199,200), followed by an information request or phishing scam (0.6% or 134,700).
| Selected scam (%) | |
|---|---|
| Buying or selling | 1.0 |
| Information request or phishing | 0.6 |
| Upfront payment | 0.4 |
| Financial advice | 0.3 |
| Computer support | 0.1 |
| Relationship or romance | 0.1 |
| Threats or extortion(b) | 0.1 |
- Scam victimisation rate refers to the number of persons who experienced the scam type in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all persons aged 15 years and over. More than one type of scam may have been experienced.
- The victimisation rate for threats or extortion scams has an RSE of between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution.
Between 2021-22 and 2022-23, the victimisation rate decreased for the following scam types:
- Information request or phishing scams (from 0.8% to 0.6%)
- Computer support (0.2% to 0.1%)
Over the same time period, the victimisation rate increased for the following scam types:
- Buying or selling (0.8% to 1.0%)
- Upfront payment (0.2% to 0.4%)
| 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information request or phishing | 1.0% | 0.8% | (b)0.6% |
| Computer support | 0.3% | 0.2% | (b)0.1% |
| Financial advice | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Upfront payment | 0.4% | 0.2% | (b)0.4% |
| Buying or selling | 0.8% | 0.8% | (b)1.0% |
| Relationship or romance | 0.1% | *0.1% | 0.1% |
| Threats or extortion | na | 0.2% | *0.1% |
- Victimisation rate refers to the number of persons who experienced the scam type in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all persons aged 15 years and over. More than one type of scam may have been experienced.
- Difference in the victimisation rate between 2021-22 and 2022-23 is statistically significant.
* Estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution.
Na Not available
Most people who experienced a scam in 2022-23 experienced only one type of scam (89%).
Characteristics of the most serious scam incident
In 2022-23, over two in three persons (69% or 356,800) who experienced a scam notified (or were notified by) an authority about the most serious scam incident, which was an increase from 2021-22 (57%). This was driven by an increase in the proportion of persons notifying or being notified by a bank or financial institution, from 32% in 2021-22 to 49% in 2022-23.
| 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank or financial institution | 27.3% | 32.2% | (c)48.9% |
| Social media or selling site | 8.7% | 11.1% | 9.7% |
| Government organisation or department | 8.4% | 11.8% | 8.7% |
| Police | 8.2% | 13.9% | 12.6% |
| Other | 9.8% | 9.9% | 8.9% |
| Any authority(b) | 49.5% | 57.4% | (c)69.4% |
- Reporting rate refers to the total number of persons who reported the most serious scam incident to an authority, expressed as a percentage of the total number of persons who experienced a scam in the last 12 months.
- More than one authority may have been notified of the incident. Includes cases where an organisation notified the respondent of the incident.
- Difference in the proportion between 2021-22 and 2022-23 is statistically significant.
Females (75%) were more likely than males (64%) to report their most serious scam incident to an authority.
Identity theft is the use of someone’s personal details in stolen, fraudulent, or forged documents without permission, or otherwise illegally appropriating another’s identity.
Prevalence and time series
In 2022-23, an estimated 1.0% of persons (199,100) experienced identity theft, which was similar to the rate in 2021-22 (0.8%).
| Victimisation rate (%) | |
|---|---|
| 2020–21 | 0.8 |
| 2021–22 | 0.8 |
| 2022–23 | 1.0 |
- Victimisation rate refers to the number of persons who experienced identity theft in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all persons aged 15 years and over.
Males (0.9%) and females (1.0%) experienced identity theft at a similar rate.
Characteristics of the most recent incident
In 2022-23, most (71% or 141,800) of the people who experienced identity theft notified (or were notified by) an authority about the most recent incident, most commonly a bank or financial institution (38%).
| Reporting rate (%) | |
|---|---|
| Bank or financial institution | 37.7 |
| Police | 25.6 |
| Government organisation or department | 23.1 |
| Social media site(d) | 2.8 |
| Other | 14.5 |
| Incident not reported | 28.3 |
- Reporting rate refers to the total number of persons who reported the most recent incident of identity theft to an authority, expressed as a percentage of the total number of persons who experienced identity theft in the last 12 months.
- Includes cases where an organisation notified the respondent of the incident.
- The most recent incident of identity theft may have been reported to more than one authority.
- The proportion for social media site has an RSE of between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution.
Of those who experienced identity theft, one in three (33% or 65,600) said the stolen personal information was used to obtain money from a bank account, superannuation, or investments/shares.
| How personal information was used (%) | |
|---|---|
| To obtain money from a bank account, superannuation or investments/shares | 32.9 |
| Don't know | 31.5 |
| Other(b) | 18.2 |
| To open accounts in your name, including phone and utilities | 14.4 |
| To apply for a loan/credit card or gain credit | 14.3 |
- Personal information may have been used in more than one way.
- Includes to file a fraudulent tax return, to provide false information to police, to rent an apartment or house, to apply for government benefits, and using personal information in some other way.
Online impersonation
Online impersonation occurs when someone’s personal details have been purposefully misused to impersonate them online or by phone, without their permission.
In 2022-23, an estimated 2.1% of persons (434,300) experienced online impersonation, down from 2.5% in 2021-22.
Males (1.9%) and females (2.2%) experienced online impersonation at a similar rate.
The rate of online impersonation varied by age, with those aged 65 years and over less likely to experience online impersonation (1.4%) than persons in all other age categories.
| Age group (years) (%) | |
|---|---|
| 15—24 | 1.8 |
| 25—34 | 2.1 |
| 35—44 | 2.2 |
| 45—54 | 2.5 |
| 55—64 | 2.5 |
| 65 and over | 1.4 |
- Victimisation rate refers to the number of persons who experienced online impersonation in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all persons in the relevant age group.
The following groups were more likely to experience online impersonation:
- persons who have a non-school qualification (such as a certificate, diploma or degree) (2.4%) compared with persons who do not (1.6%)
- persons who were born in Australia (2.2%) compared with those who were born overseas (1.7%)
Personal fraud (Tables 1a to 14b)
Experiences of card fraud, selected scams, identity theft and online impersonation. Includes victimisation rates, reporting rates, socio-demographic characteristics, and incident characteristics.
Data files
Download xlsx [199.21 KB]
Data item list
List of data items collected in the survey.
Data files
Download xlsx [492.62 KB]
All data downloads
All Personal Fraud, 2022-23 data download files.
Data files
Download zip [385.25 KB]
Methodology
Scope
People aged 15 years and over who were usual residents of private dwellings.
Excludes:
- Australian permanent defence force members and their dependants
- non-Australian defence forces
- residents of the Indigenous Community Strata.
Geography
Data available for:
- Australia
- States and territories.
Source
Multipurpose Household Survey
Collection method
Interviews were conducted by telephone with responses directly recorded in an electronic questionnaire.
Proxy interviews were permissible under certain circ*mstances.
Concepts, sources and methods
Not applicable to this release
History of changes
Not applicable to this release
View full methodology
