Australians are reporting cybercrimes every 10 minutes

The Australian Cyber Security Centre has received more than 13,500 reports of cybercrime since a new online reporting portal was established in July.

A person sits in front of a computer screen

Australians are reporting cyber crimes every 10 minutes. (AAP) Source: AAP

Australians are reporting cybercrimes every 10 minutes, according to the country's online security watchdog.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre has received more than 13,500 reports of cybercrime since a new online portal opened in July.

People lost an average of $700 to cybercrimes, according to survey results released by the centre on Monday.

Online fraud was the most common type of crime reported, such as people clicking links in messages claiming to be from their bank and filling out online banking details.

But it also included people duped by online love rats who were convinced to wire thousands of dollars abroad.

This was closely followed by identity fraud, with criminals opening bank accounts in other people's names.

Victoria reported the largest share of cybercrime to the centre, closely followed by Queensland and NSW.

Northern Territorians reported the fewest cases.

Over two-thirds of those who reported a financial loss because of cybercrime were aged between 25 and 34.

Two in five people said they used the same password for all, if not most, of their accounts, with the names of pets or family members the most popular.

The centre's head, Rachel Noble, said all Australians connected to the internet were vulnerable.

"The threat is real, but there is something you can do about it," Ms Noble said.

This included using different passwords between devices, updating software whenever possible and switching on privacy settings for social media accounts.

The Morrison government estimates cybersecurity incidents cost Australian businesses $29 billion each year.


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2 min read
Published 7 October 2019 5:42pm
Presented by Shah Paung

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