Australians reported $2.18 billion in scam losses last year and farmers are in the firing line

Cybercrime and scams are costing Australian businesses more each year, and agriculture is no exception. AuctionsPlus CTO Ken Salan on the threats facing our industry, how we approach it, and some simple steps that genuinely help.Most of us in agriculture don't think of ourselves as a target for cyber criminals. We're not a bank, we're not a government department, and our business runs on paddocks, trucks and phone calls with people we trust.

Unfortunately, that's part of what makes us a target. Criminals go where the money moves and where the defences are thinnest. Every week, livestock, machinery and property change hands across Australia, often between people who have never met, with large sums moving between bank accounts.

I want to share what we're seeing across the industry, a bit about how we approach it at AuctionsPlus, and some simple steps that genuinely help. Like every business, we're still learning and nobody is immune. But it's something we take seriously, and I think it's worth talking about openly.

Agriculture isn't immune

Cyber attacks have already disrupted wool selling, meat processing and, this year, sugar milling in Australia, halting some operations for weeks, Farm Weekly reported in October 2026. No business in the supply chain is too big or too small to be hit.

Farm businesses are often small, family-run and without IT support, yet a May 2026 WFI Insurance survey found that while around 80% of farms use some form of ag-tech, only a quarter of farmers see cyber insurance as a future need, compared with 70% of the broader business population. If your operation relies on connected equipment, online banking or third-party platforms, it's worth asking your insurer whether cyber cover is included or available.

Scams aimed at producers are well established too. Scamwatch data released by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) showed farm businesses lost more than $1.2 million in eight months of 2022, with fake tractor and machinery sales the biggest category, while fake livestock listings and fake invoices round out the playbook. If a header, a mob of stock or an invoice looks slightly off or too good to be true, it's worth stopping to check.

Scams are getting harder to spot

Australians lost $2.18 billion to scams in 2025, according to the National Anti-Scam Centre, and $166.8 million of that came from payment redirection, where a criminal hijacks an email thread or poses as your agent, carrier or buyer and sends "updated" bank details just before a payment is due. AI is making these scams far more convincing, with voice-cloning scams alone costing Australians $25.8 million in the first half of 2025, according to Swinburne University research reported by SecurityBrief, so a familiar voice, a polished email or a perfect photo is no longer proof. If bank details change or a deal feels rushed, hang up and call back on a number you already hold before any money moves.

What we're doing at AuctionsPlus

Since 2021, we've invested in a dedicated cyber security function to protect the platform, the data our users trust us with and the integrity of every sale. We certainly don't have it all figured out, and no organisation does, but it's an ongoing commitment rather than a one-off project.

• Filtering: Over three months earlier this year, our systems blocked more than 380,000 malicious web requests and close to 10,000 phishing emails.
• Disaster recovery: Every critical service has a recovery plan, and we've tested all of them in the past six months.
• Partnerships: We work with government and private partners on penetration testing, monitoring and threat intelligence.
• Training: Most attacks start with a person rather than a computer, so our whole team completes regular security training.

Buying and selling through a trusted platform takes much of the guesswork out of who is on the other end of a deal, which is one of the simplest protections against fake listings and impersonation scams.

Eight steps that make the biggest difference

The ASD's message is that most incidents exploit known, basic weaknesses, so you don't need an IT department to fix the most common ones.

1. Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) for email, banking and AuctionsPlus (Dashboard > MyAccount > Security), as it usually stops someone with a stolen password from getting in.
2. Use long passphrases of four or five random words, don't reuse them, and consider a password manager to keep track.
3. Keep your mobile number and email current so you receive security alerts and can recover access quickly.
4. Protect your email above all else, because whoever controls it can reset almost every other account.
5. Turn on automatic updates for phones, computers and apps, as most attacks use weaknesses that already have a fix.
6. Never change bank details based on an email or text. Call on a number you already hold before any money moves, and agree a "we'll always call" rule with regular clients.
7. Check who you're dealing with when buying outside a trusted platform by verifying the seller independently, inspecting stock or machinery in person or by live video, and being wary of below-market prices and deposits to "hold" stock.
8. Slow down when something feels urgent. Pressure to act now, keep quiet or pay a new way is a classic warning sign, and your staff should know they'll be thanked, not blamed, for questioning it.

We will never ask for your password, MFA code or full bank card number by email, text or phone, or ask you to pay into a new bank account by email. If something doesn't look right, forward it to [email protected].