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According to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), an estimated 3.2 million Australians, or around one in seven people, experienced personal fraud in 2024–25.
Around 2.3 million people, or 10 per cent of Australians, experienced card fraud; nearly 600,000 people (2.7 per cent) experienced a scam; about 220,000 people (1 per cent) experienced identity theft; and around 500,000 people (2.3 per cent) experienced online impersonation.
Many areas of fraud are growing. The percentage of Australians victimised by identity theft in 2014–15 was 0.7 per cent. It peaked in 2023–24 at 1.2 per cent before falling in the latest reading to 1 per cent. Similarly, card fraud has climbed steadily from 5.9 per cent in 2014–15 to 10.4 per cent in 2024–25.
The scam victimisation rate declined from 3.1 per cent in 2023–24 to 2.7 per cent in 2024–25, meaning about 80,000 fewer people experienced a scam.
This fall was driven by a decline in information requests or phishing scams, with nearly 42,000 fewer victims recorded in 2024–25.
“Buying or selling scams remained the most common scam type in Australia and were experienced by around 300,000 people,” William Milne, head of crime statistics at the ABS, said.
Impact on mortgage industry
The broking industry is also no stranger to fraud, and the issue appears to be growing across the sector.
According to research from Equifax, almost three-quarters of Australian mortgage brokers said they had been impacted by scams or fraud in the 12 months to September 2025 – a sharp rise from 26 per cent in the same period a year earlier.
Last month, Commonwealth Bank of Australia self-reported concerns to police and the corporate regulator regarding potential mortgage fraud estimated at around $1 billion.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has confirmed that it is investigating the case.
While Australia’s largest bank has not publicly detailed the alleged fraud, reports suggest the lender identified issues in home loan applications submitted through both brokers and introducers.
The investigation reportedly began in July last year, but intensified after rival big four lender National Australia Bank uncovered around $150 million in suspected fraud linked to an operation known as the Penthouse Syndicate.
Can AI help?
While AI is increasingly being used as a tool to commit fraud, new technologies are also being developed to detect and prevent criminal activity.
In the case of Commonwealth Bank, reports suggested AI may have been used to forge documents. As the technology improves, however, both fraud techniques and fraud detection methods are advancing rapidly.
Brett Spencer, chair of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia and founder and CEO of AI-driven document and data verification platform DocuScan, told Broker Daily that AI can analyse data points at scale, revealing inconsistencies that may not be immediately obvious to a human reviewer.
“What an AI platform can do is cross-reference the bank account details on a payslip, verify the calculations, and check the dates and data,” Spencer said.
“It can also look beyond the typical 90-day window to determine whether income is short-term or ongoing.”
He also noted that AI can check the metadata of a document – the underlying information describing how a document was created or modified.
Lenders and aggregators are also deploying their own technology. Nick McGrath, CEO at Moneytech, said the SME lender was building and using internally developed AI tools to prevent document fraud. He noted that there was also a variety of other platforms in the space, including DoxAI and Equifax.
DocScan is also launching two broker-focused platforms that allow brokers to upload client files for automated compliance, fraud, and verification checks.
McGrath added: “As fraud tactics continue to evolve, I believe the role of AI in detection and prevention is likely to expand further. The goal is a safer, more resilient lending environment.
“The most powerful fraud prevention tool will be a combination of AI, common sense and experience.”
[Related: Cyber preparedness critical as brokers face rising attack risk]