The changeover of financial years can be a stressful time – Scammers know that

It’s that time of year where its out with the old and in with the new. As businesses of all types and sizes close the books on FY2026 and venture into FY2027, anxiety levels can reach a peak. People get stressed and that may result in less than optimal decisions when it comes to security.

As deadlines loom, scepticism, caution and good decision-making processes may fall victim to what would normally be a healthy defence from scammers and bad actors.

TrendLife research has shown that high-pressure life moments are when Australians are most likely to be scammed, and younger Aussies are surprisingly among the most exposed.

It’s tax time and in an alarming finding TrendLife discovered that 1 in 5 Aussies have either been scammed or know someone close to them that has. 17% of respondents say that the deception was based around either the tax process or when they thought they were dealing with government agencies.

In what is the year when AI tools are starting to dominate, 38% have said that they use them during key life moments and despite almost half being concerned their data could be misused, frighteningly only 35% decline allowing their data to be shared to train the AI model.

Other key decision making activities where these Australians have been or know someone close that has been a victim are:

• while making a major purchase or investment such as a car or property (20%)
• whilst undertaking a job interview process (18%)
• whilst moving to a new address or location (15%)
• when beginning a new job or contract position (13%)
• when buying or selling a house (13%)

“Major life moments like job interviews or buying a house often involve big decisions and unfamiliar parties,” said Lynette Owens, Vice President of Consumer Education & Marketing at TrendLife. “That’s exactly what scammers exploit. These attacks feel more convincing because they’re tied to real events in people’s lives, when they are already sharing sensitive information.”

Young people (18-24’s) are particularly vulnerable with only

• 8% of them actually checking the credentials of an organisation before sharing personal information
• 4% utilising the services of an identity protection organisation
• 17% enabled or updated their privacy and security settings, compared to 29% overall

• 33% used up-to-date security software, compared to 44% overall
• 33% avoided public Wi-Fi networks, compared to 45% overall

It is clear. During stressful times our barriers come down and scammers are acutely aware that we are most vulnerable. So what can we do about it?

More than one in four (28%) Australians do not use security or antivirus software on their personal computer, while 59% do not use protection on their personal mobile device.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (if you are under 30 ask your parents what they are) the same tips and tricks I’ve outlined in previous posts remain valid

• Take advantage of the opt-out option to share your data in AI training tools
• If you feel that something isn’t quite right, trust your instincts, take a breath and reconsider your next actions
• Verify the organisation that purports to be from a financial or government service is who they say they are by going direct to their sites and utilising their chat or mail system
• Do not click links within emails or texts
• Consider using an identity protection service
• Review and tighten your permissions on all sites
• Avoid public Wi-Fi wherever possible and if that cannot be avoided consider using a VPN
• Install and keep up to date security software on all PC’s and mobile devices

Nothing earth shattering here but the more we get careless the better for the bad guys