Throughout October and November, Dr Cassandra Cross and Dr Kelly Richards, both Lecturers in the School of Justice, have undertaken in-depth qualitative interviews with 70 people in and around Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, who had reported an online fraud of more than $10,000 to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The project, which builds on Cassandra’s previous work targeting online fraud, is the first Australian study to document the reporting experiences and support needs for victims of online fraud. The research aims to provide evidence to improve outcomes for this overlooked group of crime victims, and is being conducted in partnership with the Australian Institute of Criminology.
Participants in the study came from a wide variety of backgrounds – male and female, young and old, Indigenous and non-Indigenous – and from across the socioeconomic spectrum. They had reported a wide range of online frauds to the ACCC, including romance frauds, investment frauds, and advanced fee frauds. Participants had lost between $10,000 and $400,000. A number of businesses also came forward to take part in the study. Cassandra and Kelly were taken on a guided tour of one distribution facility that had been targeted by a sophisticated network of fraudsters, wearing high visibility vests.
The impact of frauds varied greatly among participants, with those most affected reporting relationship breakdowns, thoughts of suicide, depression, employment difficulties and health problems as a result of the fraud, in addition to the financial impacts. Almost all participants had negative experiences of trying to report online fraud to a range of agencies, including police, consumer affairs agencies, and other government and regulatory bodies.
The research will wrap up in 2015, and will make recommendations about improving the reporting of online fraud, as well as support services available for those who experience this increasingly common crime.
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