Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am not sure about the member for Moncrieff, but I am starting to put one foot in both of those camps in the things that I use the internet for.

The ACMA report also found that internet users over the age of 55 are actually very intensive users. As older Australians get online they are increasingly exposed to online risks such as dating and mass marketing scams—some that particularly target older people.

I have been contacted by seniors in my electorate who have been scammed by these internet pests. These heartless pests prey on the vulnerable, the lonely and those just wanting to do the right thing by their fellow man or woman. I have heard from constituents who are even tricked into sending money overseas through dating schemes, or who responded to phishing emails asking for bank, credit card or other personal details. It has been hard for each of these people to report what has happened to them. Understandably, people who have been scammed often feel embarrassed or ashamed. I can report—in the hope that my wife is not listening—that even she, who has four degrees and who works with computers all the time, said when I came home one day, 'You've got to phone Microsoft. We've got a problem with the computer.' I then had a nice conversation with an Indian gentleman who tried to convince me of where he lived in Sydney. But it turned out that he did not; he was actually trying to get a couple of hundred dollars out of us. It can happen to anybody.

There should be no shame here for my wife or for any senior Australians. For many it is a whole new world of information to understand and they are easily able to be tricked. Unfortunately, it is costing Australians millions of dollars every year. In the report on scam activity in 2010, The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reported that Australians lost more than $63 million from cybercrime, and this was based on losses actually reported to the ACCC. Reported online scams rose from 14,101 in 2009 to 19,074 in 2010, rising exponentially as the NBN is rolled out and more people take up computers, tablets, iPhones and the like.

These figures included online auction and shopping scams, false billing, banking and online account scams, job and employment scams, dating and romance scams and computer prediction software scams. Twenty-three per cent of those who reported scams to the ACCC were 55 years or older, and as the population ages and technology is rolled out that percentage will increase. So this demographic has the highest uptake of computer and internet use and the highest increase in vulnerability to scam activity. Unfortunately, some older Australians have been frightened off the internet because of the stories they hear about the risks online.

That is why the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety, of which I am a member, is investigating cybersafety for senior Australians. It is an important and timely inquiry for the parliament to pursue, and one that I hope will bring forward practical recommendations that help protect the safety and security of senior Australians as they go online. The cybersafety committee involves members from both sides—from the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is chaired by the Labor Senator Catryna Bilyk, and the member for Mitchell is the deputy chair.

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