THE HON STEPHEN JONES MP

ASSISTANT TREASURER

MINISTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES

MEMBER FOR WHITLAM

Over 60 residents attended a scams forum hosted by Member for Whitlam Stephen Jones at the Dapto Ribbonwood Centre today.

Today’s event follows a series of hugely successful local forums held in the Southern Highlands earlier this year. These local forums are critical raising awareness and equipping local residents with the information and tools to protect themselves against scammers. 

The Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services spoke with residents about common scams, tricks scammers use to target victims and provided an update about what the Federal Government is doing to protect Australians from scams.

Last month, National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) was officially launched by Minister Jones.

The NASC brings together the best expertise and resources across government agencies, law enforcement and the private sector to;

• disrupt scammers before they reach Australians
• raise consumer awareness about the nature of scams and how to avoid them and;
• link scam victims to services where they've lost money or had their identity compromised

The first NASC ‘hit squad’, is currently targeting investment scams, which cost Australians over $1 billion in 2022.   

Quotes attributable to Stephen Jones, Member for Whitlam:

“Last year, Australians lost $3 billion to scams. The Federal Government, private and public sectors are now working together through the National Anti-Scam Centre to take the fight to these criminals.”

“Many people in our region have been impacted by scams. These criminals are highly sophisticated and are more likely to have a psychology degree than a prison record.”

“That’s why today’s Dapto Scams Forum is so important in providing consumer awareness to members of our community.”