Australians Have Lost Trust in SMS, Phone and Email as Scamming Surges to Record Levels

Sydney, Australia, March, 2024 – Almost one in four adult Australians (more than 5 million people) has interacted with a scam message, and ten percent of people have lost money from a scam, according to a new report from Honeycomb Strategy and Atomic.io.

Additionally, 82 percent of adult Australians have received scam messages weekly or more often through email, SMS or phone calls, with 43 percent reporting they receive them at least daily, the research has found.

These findings are amongst the revelations contained in the first Atomic.io “State of Digital Trust” report – an in-depth survey of 1000 Australian and New Zealanders about their experiences and attitudes towards scamming and communication channels with the brands they rely on daily for banking, retail and other necessities. The report was compiled by Honeycomb Strategy on behalf of Atomic.io, a leading global provider of in-app engagement solutions.

Undertaken in January 2024, The Atomic.io State of Digital Trust report asked 800 Australians and 200 New Zealanders over the age of 18 a series of questions about their interaction with scams they experienced in communicating with everyday, vitally important services, such as banking and finance, utilities such as energy, entertainment and travel.

The report highlighted that, while not the most commonly used due to its relatively new adoption, in-app messaging is already the most trusted form of communication when interacting with businesses, when compared with more commonly used, traditional methods such as email, SMS and phone calls.

In-app messaging involves users signing into a web or mobile application on their device prior to engaging in two-way activity, and achieved the highest level of trust – ahead of all other channels including email, SMS, and phone calls – with 40 percent of Australians highly trusting the messages they receive through it.

John Bevitt, Managing Director of Honeycomb Strategy, said; “Time and time again, our research has demonstrated that consumer trust is the cornerstone of digital communication, and the Atomic.io State of Digital Trust report indicates it’s time to adapt.

“This research shows a decisive turn towards in-app messaging, with users seeking the security it offers over traditional channels that are more prone to scams. Nurturing this trust is critical, and in-app messaging is pivotal for businesses to connect with consumers on a secure, reliable platform”

Jo Haanstra, Acting CEO of Atomic.io, said; “The reality is organisations are letting down their customers when it comes to secure communications. The findings of this unprecedented research from Honeycomb confirm that across Australia and New Zealand, phone, SMS and email-based scams are inundating customers on a daily basis. Australians are looking for more secure channels to communicate with the brands they rely on. And while not yet the most widely used channel, in-app messaging is the most trusted form of communication when engaging with businesses, far surpassing conventional methods like email, SMS, and phone calls. Australians trust in-app messaging’s ability to detect spam and are more comfortable sharing sensitive information through this channel. Our experience working with four of the five major banks in New Zealand, and as well as global brands like Movember and SS&C Health, has taught us that customers currently have high levels of mistrust with brands and are urgently asking for a more secure way to communicate. We are past the point of organisations asking if they should switch to authenticated channels, but rather how quickly and which high-risk or sensitive communications need to move first.”