Why Scams are at a Record High in Australia

ACCC SCAM REPORT
A new report's found that Aussies were scammed at a record high last year, leaving us billions of dollars out of pocket. More than 601,000. That's how many scams were reported by Aussies in 2023. And that is an all-time high. It's all part of the ACCC's new Targeting Scams report, which looked at how and how much Aussies were being scammed, but there is some good news. Even though the amount of scams reported to Scamwatch has increased, the amount of money that Aussies have lost from scams has actually decreased. You see, in 2022, Aussies lost a record $3.1 billion to scams, but last year that number fell to $2.7 billion. It's actually the first time in six years that number has gone down and the ACCC reckons it's all thanks to increased effort from banks and the government's new National Anti-Scam Centre. But they say there's still a lot of work to do, and they're keen to create stricter rules for banks, mobile providers, and digital platforms that would force them to crack down on scams even harder. In the meantime, experts say we all need to do what we can to look out for scams, and help vulnerable people around us who might be more likely to fall victim them.
KING CHARLES
King Charles will be returning to public-facing duties this week for the first time since his cancer diagnosis was made public. For the past 12 weeks, King Charles has been taking a bit of a break from some royal duties while he received cancer treatment. Now, Buckingham Palace says, while his treatment is still going he's making good progress and doctors have cleared him to get back to some public-facing work. But we still don't know if his planned trip to Australia later this year will go ahead.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Yep, 24th birthdays don't come much better than this! Ellie Carpenter and her Lyon team are heading to the Women's Champions League final. After they beat fellow French side, Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the second leg of their semi-final run. The team will now take on Barcelona for the title, not before a quick happy birthday though!
LIV GOLF
Now to LIV golf, which took place in Adelaide over the weekend. And, for the third time, American pro Brendan Steele took the win by just one shot. Meanwhile the Aussies took the win in the teams category thanks to some nifty work from Cameron Smith.
OLYMPIC TORCH
And finally, to the Olympic torch, which has just set sail on a 128-year-old French ship, on route to France! The flame will arrive in Marseille next week, kicking off a torch relay around the country that will end at the Olympic opening ceremony in Paris, which is now just 88 days away!
OLD ROO
First up, to Victoria, where you wouldn't think it, but this little hole leads to a deep cave harbouring a 50,000-year-old secret. Palaeontologists abseiled their way into the cave, and spent 58 hours underground to fetch this. The fossils of the extinct short-faced kangaroo that roamed the earth tens of thousands of years ago. It's the most complete fossil skeleton ever discovered in a Victorian cave. And it'll be on display at Melbourne Museum by the next school holidays!
MONEY DETECTOR
Now to Brazil, where a metal-detector enthusiast turned TikToker has just bought a TV with all the coins he's found while metal-detecting! He says it only took him 7 days to find about $400 worth of coins on beaches and in parks. That would've taken a long time to count. May be time I picked up a new hobby.
SUMO BABIES
And finally, to Japan. Where 100 crying babies have faced off at the annual Sumo Crying Baby competition. Yes, it's a thing. The babies are held by actual sumo wrestlers and the winner is the baby who cries first. Sometimes, masks are also used to help make the babies cry. Ah, that's gonna be a core memory.
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For the past 55 years, Behind the News has been helping to break down current issues and events for young people all around the world. The program is a high-energy, fun way for people to learn about the stories we see in the news while providing background information that isn’t usually given by other news bulletins.