Australians lost over $2 billion to scams in 2021, including over $1.5 million lost by farmers and agriculture businesses, according to the ACCC’s latest Targeting scams report.

The most common agriculture scam was fake online sales of agricultural machinery such as tractors, backhoes, bobcats and excavators, accounting for reported losses of over $1.4 million.

Scammers created fake websites to sell new tractors, and operated second hand tractor scams on platforms such as Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.

The ACCC will continue to raise awareness later this year to help prevent farmers and agriculture businesses from being scammed.

If you are a business interested in raising awareness about agriculture scams with your members or clients later this year, please contact the ACCC Agriculture Unit at Agricultureunit@accc.gov.au.

To learn more about common scams, how to protect yourself and how to report a scam, visit www.scamwatch.gov.au.