ACCC says scam calls are increasing. Here's what you can do to avoid them

No, it's not your imagination. Scam calls and texts about your overdue tax bill, your "recent" traffic accident, or the arrival of a parcel you never ordered are increasing.

Scammers use a range of tactics and technology to target Australians, usually seeking to obtain people's money or personal details.

Scam calls mostly originate from overseas although some scammers use technology to make it appear like the call is coming from an Australian phone number — a practice known as spoofing.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deputy chairwoman Delia Rickard said scam calls had in fact been increasing "for some years" and were becoming "incredibly frustrating" for authorities working to track them and ultimately block them.

"Telcos have blocked hundreds of millions of scam calls — the numbers are phenomenal," she said.

"We are seeing more scams and more scam calls and the phone remains the number one way for scammers to reach people."

It has become so bad that even Ms Rickard does not answer a call on her mobile phone from a number she does not recognise and has not picked up her landline for almost three years.

"It's not worth it," she reasoned.

Ms Rickard said different scams targeted different emotions in the public too.

A lot of the calls purporting to be from the Australian Tax Office threatening jail spark fear that the victims have forgotten to pay their bill and will be arrested.

During the COVID pandemic, there have been plenty of scams promising financial benefits for those hit by job losses, targeting people's sense of hope.

"They certainly have a sucker list," Ms Rickard said.

"If they don't get you or they almost got you, they'll definitely try you again.

"You can block the number for the future, but that may or may not work because scammers can use multiple numbers.

"Sadly, if you don't recognise a number, just let it go through to voice mail, or if you pick up and quickly realise it's a scam, just hang up."

In December 2020, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) registered rules requiring telecommunications companies to detect, trace and block scam calls.

In the first 12 months of the Reducing Scam Calls Code being in force, more than 357 million scam calls were blocked.

Now, the Communications Alliance is consulting on revisions to the Reducing Scam Calls Code to help address SMS scams.

ACMA recently consulted on proposed new rules to help stop scammers targeting transactions customers have with their telecommunications providers, such as billing and service arrangements.

Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet to stopping scams, but Ms Rickard has a few tips.

"The first golden rule to remember when people are online, on the phone or on social media is that you can never really know if someone is who they say they are," she said.

"All scammers will pretend to be a trusted entity such as a bank or a government organisation.

"They're all looking for your money or personal details so don't give away personal information, don't give money, and don't give anyone access to your computer.

"If you get a call and you're not sure if it's legitimate, do a Google search and double-check.

"If you get an SMS out of the blue, whatever you do, don't click on the links in it. A massive amount of malware gets downloaded to your phone via those links."

Consumers can also report scam calls to the Scamwatch website at www.scamwatch.gov.au.

These reports are directly helping to identify scam calls for blocking by the telecommunications industry.

ACMA has also developed a comprehensive range of resources to assist Australians to identify and protect themselves from phone scams.

They can be found at www.acma.gov.au/phone-scams