New research from Commonwealth Bank suggests the biggest gap in Australia's scam defences isn't knowledge — it's silence, with victims far more likely to handle suspicious situations alone than to check in with someone they trust.
CommBank's Behavioural Science Centre of Excellence found that among scam victims who never told anyone, nearly a third believed they could manage the situation themselves, while a similar share didn't think it was necessary to speak up.
CommBank scam prevention officer James Roberts said the common assumption that people fall victim through ignorance is wrong — "when something unexpected happens, many of us believe we can work it out ourselves."
The pattern of isolation extends to how criminals build fraud over time. CommBank-backed identity protection app Truyu has flagged a tactic it calls "stolen identity validation," where criminals test stolen personal details — often via small-scale actions like activating prepaid SIM cards — before deploying them for larger fraud. Nearly a third of unauthorised identity checks analysed by Truyu had been preceded by a telco-related check, and in almost half of cases, a second unauthorised check followed within a week.
Roberts said the technique "is about what comes next," once criminals confirm stolen details are accurate.
Separately, ANZ's Customer Protection team has pointed to artificial intelligence as a growing accelerant, with AI now used to fabricate convincing fake voices, videos, and messages that mimic trusted contacts or institutions.
The stakes are rising fastest around retirement savings. NAB data shows estimated losses from investment scams linked to superannuation surged 389% between October 2025 and July 2026 compared with the prior corresponding period, even as case volumes held steady. Around two in three of these cases involved cryptocurrency payments.
NAB executive group investigations Chris Sheehan said criminals were "increasingly developing convincing stories" to access those funds, warning that no legitimate investment opportunity should require urgent action or a shift into unfamiliar products.
The trend adds to a national picture where the National Anti-Scam Centre recorded $878.7 million in investment scam losses in 2025 alone.
Across all three warnings, the message to consumers is consistent: talk to trusted contacts, advisers or a bank before acting, particularly when pressured to move money quickly.
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