Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

We've all had that moment: our phone rings, and the number is unknown to us. Many of us, sensing something isn't quite right, simply ignore the call or block the number. We know it could be a scam and we avoid it. But, for far too many Australians, these scam calls don't end with just a blocked number. For various reasons, whether it's confusion or vulnerability or they're simply caught off guard, they pick up that call or click on that link and engage with the scammer, and the consequences can be devastating.

Scamming has become an international plague, a faceless, borderless threat that is preying on people around the globe. In 2023, a staggering $2.7 billion was stolen from Australians by scammers. That figure represents the hard-earned money of everyday people, money that was supposed to go towards building futures, supporting families and securing retirements. Instead, it's vanished into the hands of criminals.

But, while the financial cost is shocking, the true damage can't be captured by numbers alone. Like my colleagues do in their electorates, in my electorate of Goldstein I hear stories all the time about scams. People recount close calls where they managed to bail out at the last second, narrowly avoiding disaster. But I also hear the heart-wrenching stories where the warnings came too late, and one of those stories weighs heavily on my mind.

It's about an elderly man—a man who's become a friend—a proud immigrant who came to Australia over 50 years ago with almost nothing but hope. Like so many others, he worked hard, built a family and made a life for himself. He's the kind of person who bodies the Australian success story, someone who arrived with very little but, through determination and grit, created a future for his children and his grandchildren. But life changes. After losing his wife and seeing his children move away, this man found himself living alone. In his 70s, he was still strong, capable and determined to manage his own affairs. He'd always handled things on his own, so why would this stage of life be any different? Unfortunately, that's when the scammers found him at his most vulnerable.

One day, he answered one of those calls. It wasn't pushy; it wasn't aggressive. The voice on the other end was young, confident and convincing. They spoke of an exciting investment in cryptocurrency, an opportunity that could yield enormous returns. The caller seemed to understand him. He spoke his language and built trust over several conversations, and eventually, after several reassurances, this man took the plunge and invested. At first it seemed like he'd made a great decision; the returns looked fantastic on paper. But, as we now know, those numbers were fake. When he tried to call in his profits, everything went silent. His money was gone. Hundreds of thousands of dollars was lost—vanished into thin air.

Yet it didn't stop there. Out of shame and embarrassment, he didn't tell anyone. He tried to ignore the scam calls that kept coming, but over time he fell for another one, a romance scam. He trusted someone he met online, someone who told him they had a future together, but that future came with a price: another investment in yet another fraudulent scheme. He was promised a partnership, a shared life of wealth and happiness. Instead, he was robbed again. This man, now around 80 years old, lost almost $1 million. Everything he'd worked for, everything he'd saved for his children and grandchildren, was gone, and today, at almost 80, he contemplates finding a job because the retirement he'd carefully planned for has disappeared.

His story is not unique. There are countless Australians right now who are suffering in silence because they've been scammed and they're too ashamed to admit it. This is why we must act. We can no longer afford to let this epidemic continue unchecked. Australia needs robust legislation that puts the onus on banks, financial institutions and social media platforms to strengthen their antiscam technology and safeguard people's finances, and we need nationwide education.

The story I shared with you today is a tragedy, but it doesn't have to continue to be repeated. We can make a difference. We can protect our citizens from these criminals and ensure that future generations do not have to suffer this awful fate.

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