Australia faces an epidemic of scams, a daily barrage of dodgy texts, phone calls and emails from anonymous cyber criminals and con artists, domestic and abroad.

Financial losses are doubling year on year but the true cost of scams amounts to more than lost dollars, with emotional damage inflicted on individuals, families and businesses.

Law enforcement authorities concede we cannot arrest our way out of this problem; education is key.

Understanding how scammers target us is the first step towards recognising a scam in the wild and taking the necessary steps to stop it in its tracks.

Hosted by Deborah Knight, Anatomy of a Scam is made in collaboration with CommBank. Stay CommBank safe with services that help protect you from scams and fraud 24/7.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Australia, a cyber breach is reported roughly every eight minutes. Often these attacks involve the theft of data prized by scammers: our private, personal information. As a result, scams are rising in frequency and sophistication, fuelled by stolen personal data, and tailored to the intended victim. Understanding how your data can be used against you might help you spot a scam in the wild… 

Anatomy of a Scam is hosted by Deborah Knight and features:

• Detective Superintendent Matt Craft - NSW Police Cybercrime Squad Commander
• Katherine Manstead - Director of Cyber Intelligence, CyberCX
• Troy Hunt - Microsoft VP and founder of HaveIBeenPwned.com

Anatomy of a Scam is made in collaboration with CommBank. Stay CommBank safe with services that help protect you from scams and fraud 24/7. Remember 3 simple steps: Stop. Check. Reject. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of the time we back ourselves to spot a real email from a fake one. But sometimes the signs of a scam are so well hidden, you don’t even think to check.

It’s a lesson well learned by champion racehorse trainer Rob Heathcote. When he recently bought his wife a new car, he didn’t plan on buying it twice…

Business Email Compromise, the biggest scam affecting Australian businesses.

Anatomy of a Scam is hosted by Deborah Knight and features:

• Champion racehorse trainer Rob Heathcote
• AFP Commander Cybercrime Operations Chris Goldsmid
• CyberCX executive director, digital forensics and incident response, Nick Klein
• CSIRO Data61 Principal Research Scientist, Dr Marthie Grobler 

Anatomy of a Scam is made in collaboration with CommBank. Stay CommBank safe with services that help protect you from scams and fraud 24/7. Remember 3 simple steps: Stop. Check. Reject. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the wake of the GFC, architect Tony Camilleri hoped to rebuild his battered retirement portfolio and was open to investment opportunities.

And then his phone rang. A cold call. A confident pitch from a charming stock broker. The kind of call that embodies the adage ‘if it’s too good to be true, well…’

Anatomy of a Scam is hosted by Deborah Knight and features:

• Tony Camilleri
• IFW Global Executive Chairman, Ken Gamble
• CommBank’s General Manager of Group Fraud, James Roberts
• NSW Police Force Cybercrime Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Matthew Craft

Anatomy of a Scam is made in collaboration with CommBank. Stay CommBank Safe with services that help protect you from scams and fraud 24/7. Remember 3 simple steps: Stop. Check. Reject. 

Disclaimer: This podcast makes no suggestion that any investment organisation using the name Alexander Capital Management is not legitimate. This is a case where a scam operator appears to have falsely used a name that is similar to existing wealth management firms.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When journalist Jessica Ridley received a call from a man claiming to work for her bank’s fraud detection team, she was convinced help was at hand. The phone calls and SMS messages came from legitimate numbers, verified as belonging to her bank. 

But “smart” phones are easily fooled, our trust freely exploited, looks can be deceiving, and in the digital age, the art of deception is alive and well…

Anatomy of a Scam is hosted by Deborah Knight and features:

• Jessica Ridley
• David Lacey - Managing Director, IDCARE 
• Jeremey Fenton - Executive Manager - Consumer, Consent and Numbers Branch, Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)
• Assistant Commissioner Chris Goldsmid - AFP Cyber Operations Commander

Anatomy of a Scam is made in collaboration with CommBank. Stay CommBank Safe with services that help protect you from scams and fraud 24/7. Remember 3 simple steps: Stop. Check. Reject. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you are hit with a ransom attack, should you pay the ransom? 

The short answer is “No”, but the longer answer is “it’s a little more complicated than that…”

Warwick Levy runs the independent fashion brand Lonely Kids Club, and when hackers hijacked the brand’s Instagram account, they also took control of its key e-commerce channel. Warwick was told he can have it back “if he did this one thing…” but the ransom demanded was a textbook case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t…

Anatomy of a Scam is hosted by Deborah Knight and features:

• Warwick Levy - Lonely Kids Club
• Assistant Commissioner Chris Goldsmid - AFP Cyber Operations Commander
• Nick Klein - Executive Director - Digital Forensics & Incident Response - CyberCX
• David Lacey - Managing Director, IDCARE 

Anatomy of a Scam is made in collaboration with CommBank. Stay CommBank Safe with services that help protect you from scams and fraud 24/7. Remember 3 simple steps: Stop. Check. Reject. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve all had a problem solved on the end of a tech support line.

So when Vicki receives a call claiming to be from one of the biggest companies in the world, of course she hands over control of her phone. 

This ‘help’, however, turns out to be a hijacking.

But it doesn't have to play out like this. There are ways to flip the script - to scam the scammers - and even to entertain millions while you do it….

Anatomy of a Scam is hosted by Deborah Knight and features:

• Vicki Smith

• James Roberts - General Manager of Group Fraud Management Services at CommBank

• David Lacey - Managing Director, IDCARE 

• Assistant Commissioner Chris Goldsmid - AFP Cyber Operations Commander

• Kitboga

Anatomy of a Scam is made in collaboration with CommBank. Stay CommBank Safe with services that help protect you from scams and fraud 24/7. Remember 3 simple steps: Stop. Check. Reject. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After finding the love of her life online, Sharon Armstrong was sure she was headed for her ‘happily ever after.’ Instead, she spent two years in prison.

She fell for the wrong guy, believed the wrong stories…
And uncovering the psychological tactics used against her, along with those used in many other scams, shows that nobody is immune. 

Anatomy of a Scam is hosted by Deborah Knight and features:

• Sharon Armstrong

• Monica Whitty - Professor of Human Factors in Cyber Security at Monash University

• David Lacey - Managing Director, IDCARE 

Anatomy of a Scam is made in collaboration with CommBank. Stay CommBank Safe with services that help protect you from scams and fraud 24/7. Remember 3 simple steps: Stop. Check. Reject. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.