Evaluating the Australasian Consumer Fraud Awareness Month, 2007

Abstract

As part of a global effort to fight mass-marketed consumer scams, consumer protection agencies in 33 western countries have participated in a month of fraud prevention activities each year to raise awareness of the problem and to provide advice to consumers on how to avoid being victimised. In Australia and New Zealand, nineteen government agencies now comprise the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce (ACFT) that conducted a campaign in March 2007, the theme of which was ‘Scams Target You – Protect Yourself’. This paper provides an evaluation of the impact of the activities undertaken by the Taskforce, including the effect that the extensive publicity had on the official reporting of scams by consumers. The results of an online survey of 841 self-selected respondents are also presented. It is concluded that the campaign was highly effective in raising consumer awareness, with reporting rates increasing substantially throughout the period of the campaign.