ACCC Scam Websites 2026: 5,834 Sites Taken Down in Q1

Updated 31 August 2026. The ACCC media release (5 June 2026, 49/26) is the ACCC scam websites 2026 snapshot: the National Anti-Scam Centre disrupted 5,834 scam websites in the first quarter of 2026, including 1,960 fake gambling sites. Scamwatch recorded $38.3 million in losses from scams that began online. Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe’s line is the useful one for repair customers: polished websites are cheap for criminals. Search the business yourself.

By the Computer Repairs Near Me Team.

What this has to do with a broken laptop

Fake “Microsoft repair”, “urgent virus” and too-cheap MacBook ads live in the same online channel the ACCC is taking down. A Google ad that wants remote access is not a suburb shop. If the site only has a form and a 1300 number, hang up and find a premises.

ReportCyber figures in the same release ($187.7 million reported to police in Q1, combined losses $248.3 million after de-duplication) are the scale. They are not your invoice. Your job is: don’t click the ad, don’t install AnyDesk for a stranger, do take a cracked screen to a shop you can visit.

What to do instead

Shortlist real benches on locations. Booking hygiene: before you hand over your laptop. Spotting cowboy counters: dodgy shop signs. Consumer law: Australian Consumer Law and repair. Other dated notes: news.

If you already paid a fake site, the ACCC points to the bank, IDCARE, Scamwatch and ReportCyber. We cannot reverse the payment.

How a fake repair site usually looks

A stock photo of a bench, a 1300 number, and a form that wants remote access before anyone has seen the machine. That is not a suburb shop in Australia. If Google Ads got you there, search the trading name plus a street and see whether a premises exists. The Q1 takedown count is why those ads keep appearing: criminals spin up new domains faster than people update bookmarks.

A real counter still wants the laptop in the room. They do not need TeamViewer because a popup said Microsoft called. If you already installed a remote tool for a stranger, treat it as a compromise. Change banking passwords from a different device. Then take the machine to a shop you can walk into.