Australia faces an epidemic of scams, a daily barrage of dodgy texts, phone calls and emails from anonymous cyber criminals and con artists, domestic and abroad.

Financial losses are doubling year on year but the true cost of scams amounts to more than lost dollars, with emotional damage inflicted on individuals, families and businesses.

Law enforcement authorities concede we cannot arrest our way out of this problem; education is key.

Understanding how scammers target us is the first step towards recognising a scam in the wild and taking the necessary steps to stop it in its tracks.

Hosted by Deborah Knight, Anatomy of a Scam is made in collaboration with CommBank. Stay CommBank safe with services that help protect you from scams and fraud 24/7.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.