Chinese authority scams cost Australians $12m in 2025

Chinese authority scams cost Australians more than $12 million last year, according to ACCC figures cited by the ABC, after criminal groups posing as police used spoofed calls, forged papers and live video monitoring to push victims into moving savings. The Scamwatch warning on Chinese authority scams says targets are often told they are linked to a crime before the caller introduces fake warrants, secrecy demands and instructions to transfer money.

According to the ABC report, Scamwatch received 1,294 reports in 2025. Losses topped $12 million, and the median loss for Chinese authority scams was $55,000. Across all scam types, culturally and linguistically diverse consumers had a median loss of $750, a gap that shows how quickly this script can drain savings once a victim is isolated.

ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe told the ABC the fraud worked because it joined technical deception to coercion.

“We are seeing scammers utilising both technology and psychology incredibly effectively to trap their victims in this crime,” Lowe said.

Justin’s case shows how the pressure lands. The ABC cited the man, identified only by his first name, as saying he transferred nearly $140,000 after callers told him he was under investigation by Chinese police. He described the calls as “very controlling, very authoritarian”. Scamwatch gives similar warnings: scammers often tell victims to stay on video calls, keep the matter secret and move money into supposedly safe accounts.

There is no single technical trick at work. Caller-ID spoofing helps the first approach look credible. Official-looking documents keep the threat alive. Messaging apps or Microsoft Teams-style monitoring then keep targets away from family, police and bank staff until transfers are complete. A check-in from a bank or relative can be reframed by the scammer as another risk to manage.

Banks push community warnings

NAB’s customer guidance treats the scam as a live social-engineering threat, not a nuisance-call script. The bank tells customers that legitimate Chinese authorities will not ask people in Australia to transfer money, hand over banking credentials or remain connected on a video call. It advises customers to hang up, use official contact details and speak to their bank before moving funds.

In Hurstville, Commonwealth Bank has taken the warning into local community settings. In May, the bank said it worked with police, community leaders and the Chinese Australian Services Society at an event for Chinese-speaking residents. The Commonwealth Bank statement cast the campaign as a community-safety problem rather than a narrow online-security issue.

Westpac told the ABC that stopping scams was one of its highest priorities, while declining to comment on Justin’s case because it was before the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. The case points to a problem for fraud teams: the transfers may appear to be authorised by the customer, even when the customer is being watched, threatened and coached in real time.

For bank fraud teams, controls have to catch behaviour as well as suspect links. Large transfers, sudden secrecy, repeated withdrawals and scripted explanations can matter as much as the number on caller ID. Warnings also need to reach families, international students and recent migrants before a caller with a forged warrant gets there first.

The consumer advice is blunt. Scamwatch says anyone contacted by a caller claiming to be Chinese police, prosecutors or embassy staff should end the call and verify the claim through official contact details. Do not transfer money, share banking codes or stay on a video call with someone claiming to run a law-enforcement investigation.