Improving responses to online fraud victims: An \ud examination of reporting and support

Online fraud poses a substantial threat to the financial and overall wellbeing of Australians. This research examines the reporting experiences and support needs of 80 victims of online fraud across Australia, who reported losses of at least AUD$10,000 to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The findings highlight the many difficulties and challenges faced by victims in attempting to report their incident and document their overwhelmingly negative experiences with agencies across the “fraud justice network”. The report also highlights the devastating impact that online fraud can have on individual victims and the lack of support services available to assist with recovery. Overall, these findings demonstrate the need to more effectively respond to online fraud victims from within the “fraud justice network”. Additionally, they illustrate the need to provide more adequate support mechanisms, which seek to counter the negativity, victim blaming, shame and stigma associated with this particular crime type