Australians lost nearly half-a-billion dollars to scams in the past 10 months, which is already significantly more than this time last year.

Nearly all the losses fall under the umbrella of investment scams, which have doubled in the past two years.

It's not a particularly surprising trend, with investment scams expected to climb in the coming years substantially, according to Edith Cowan University Professor of Cyber Security Practice Paul Haskell-Dowland.

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Australians lost more than $474 million in scams since January, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) Scamwatch.

So far, in 2022, investment scams have topped the list with $320 million lost while dating and romance came in second with about $32 million lost.

Other types of scams in the top 10 included, false billing, identity theft, pyramid schemes and online shopping scams.

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However, Haskell-Dowland told 9news.com.au that the real number of money lost was far greater, with only a small amount of people putting their hand up to admit they were scammed.

"The scam statistics are always skewed, because they are inaccurate because they don't include everybody," he said.

"There is still a stigma attached to being scammed.

"Being a victim of a scam campaign is not something to be ashamed of and when we see the scam data, it's only a small part of the image."

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Why have investments skyrocketed in the past two years?

In 2021, Australians reported losing more than $177 million on investment scams while that number has increased by $143 million in 2022.

"It's very likely we are going to see a continued trend of increased investment scams," according to Haskell-Dowland.

"We've already seen it massively leaping in dominance."

Digital curreny scams account for a large proportion of the losses.

"Digital currencies tend to be quite popular as a lot of scams are oriented around the buying and selling of digital currency," Haskell-Dowland said.

"It is also predominantly internet based, so the transactions typically happen through websites, where you hold your coin wallet and you store your digital currency digitally."

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In a report by the ACCC on scam activity in 2021, it stated that urgent work needed to be done to combat cryptocurrency investment scams.

The ACCC described the "hype of cryptocurrency" as the "wild west" with many countries trying to regulate it.

Digital currencies are a "relatively unregulated market" which is why the scams are so high, Haskell-Dowland added.

"There are very little controls or safeguards wrapped around the trade in digital currency and there is very little oversight," he said.

"It is relatively difficult to trace transactions back, making it a very desirable form of crime for cyber criminal groups so they are going to make a lot of money out of it."

In March 2022 the Australian government began consultation on approaches for licencing digital currency exchanges and custody requirements for crypto assets. 

EXPLAINED: What to do if you have been hacked

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Petrol prices in Australia will remain unpredictable in 2023 as global events continue to weigh on the cost of oil, with experts concerned mitigating price hikes is out of the government's control.

The cost of unleaded petrol hit a record high of over $2.20 a litre in June this year.

Prices varied month to month as events around the world – like Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the continued COVID-19 pandemic and fears of a global recession – caused enormous volatility in the cost of oil and OPEC countries clamped down on supply.

The former government tried to intervene by cutting the fuel excise but it did little to bring petrol prices down, and now there are concerns further government intervention will not be able to calm unstable costs at the bowser in 2023

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"The factors that determine whether prices will go up or down are global and are increasingly out of the control of any government," NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury told 9news.com.au.

"We have seen oil prices heading in the right direction but we've been fooled before."

What happened in 2022?

Petrol prices reached record-breaking highs both for unleaded and diesel this year.

The main factors leading to volatile fuel prices include the hangover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's war, lockdowns and unrest in China, along with speculation of a looming recession.

"On top of all that, you have OPEC and other oil-producing countries putting an artificial lid on production to inflate the price of the barrel," Khoury said.

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Khoury said 2022 has been an absolute "nightmare" in giving Australians reliable advice.

"It was a time when we never needed reliable advice more as we broke every record," Khoury said.

Diesel prices were at a historic peak all year, but by December, international oil prices plummeted by half meaning fuel prices dropped to below $1.60 across Australia.

Khoury said fuel prices dropped to a price not seen in almost six months at the end of 2022.

What was the fuel excise?

Surging petrol prices only added to the stress on Australians facing surging inflation impact the price of everyday items, consecutive interest rate hikes, and skyrocketing energy prices.

In the former government's federal budget in March the primary fuel tax was cut in half as an attempt to provide a cost of living relief to Australians.

The fuel excise was chopped in half from 44.2 cents per litre to 22.1 cents per litre.

In real word terms, this allowed motorists filling up a 40-litre tank to save about $10.

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The cost of living relief ran until September 28.

The Albanese government didn't offer any cost of living sweeteners in their October budget but said it plans to offer power price relief in the new year.

What's going to happen in 2023?

The takeaway message from experts is that it's impossible to tell, but even if the government did try to intervene, it's unlikely measures would make a difference in terms of petrol costing.

However, the government may focus on trying to reduce the cost of living in other ways.

Khoury said any change in global factors could have "an immediate effect on oil prices".

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"OPEC could cut prices even further, Russia's appalling invasion could escalate or deescalate overnight you just can't know," he said.

"There's still genuine fears about the economy and if the economy crashed there would be downward pressure on prices."

Khoury said the "fundamental challenge" in 2022 was the difficulty in forecasting what was going to happen with petrol prices and giving Australians the most reliable advice.

"It's just impossible to predict," he said.

Authorities aren't confident predicting what could happen to petrol prices between Christmas and the new year let alone well into 2023.

A young girl saved the life of her baby brother after a crash that killed their parents in country Western Australia.

The five-year-old girl and her two siblings spent more than two days trapped at the roadside wreck as they waited to be found after the horror crash in Kondinin early on Christmas morning.

Their parents Cindy Braddock, 25, and Jake Day, 28, were killed in the crash.

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The children, aged one, two and five, were discovered by a family member on Tuesday.

They were taken to hospital with severe dehydration.

"If it wasn't for the five-year-old undoing the buckle of the one-year-old's car seat, he wouldn't be with us today," relative Michael Read said.

"She'll probably not know for a few years."

Read said it would have been hard for the children to be in the car the whole time.

"Basically they were stuck in the car for the 55 hours in 30-degree heat," he said.

"Nobody knows what they went through."

The children are expected to be discharged from hospital sometime in the coming days.

The crash has left the small town of Kondinin in disbelief.

Braddock's friend Helen Whitbread said the community was "never going to get over it".

Whitbread was due to be catching up with Braddock after Christmas but instead she is grieving her friend.

"This town's never going to be the same without them," Whitbread said.

"Cindy's done an awesome job with the babies and now they're not going to have a mum."

The crash has renewed pleas for people to take care on country roads.

"We've got to improve our road safety in this state," Cam Dumesny from the Western Roads Federation said.

"Too many families have been impacted, it is tragic, we need to do better."

Two teenagers who died in a crash in South Australia's Mid North are being remembered by friends as "the best couple" who will "be in love forever".

Jaxson Montague, 19, and Ashanti Lee Smith, 17, died when their car veered off the Augusta Highway and slammed into a tree about four kilometres south of Lochiel.

Montague died just three days before his 20th birthday.

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Best friend and neighbour Carla Agars said she still couldn't believe the pair were gone.

"I didn't believe it at first. I was like no way and then I spoke to his mum and she said he was gone," Agars said.

"They were just the best couple. They deserved to be with each other, they had so many memories.

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"It's his birthday on Saturday as well so that doesn't help because he should have been here celebrating it."

The couple were travelling from Adelaide to Port Pirie, where they live, about 7.30pm on Tuesday after spending time with family.

Agars said they had just dropped Jaxson's stepsister home.

"They will always be there watching over everyone and I'm just so sorry for the family," she said.

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Jaxson's father Daryl was also in the car.

The 46-year-old survived the crash and was airlifted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with serious injuries.

"Hopefully he (Daryl) pulls through because it's going to be a nightmare for him already," Agars said.

A manhunt is underway in the state's Hunter Region, after a 25-year-old man was shot dead inside his home last night.

Police believe they are looking for multiple offenders who took off in a getaway car after executing the targeted attack.

Officers were called to a home on Traders Way in Heddon Greta, 20km east of Cessnock, after reports a man had been shot.

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9News understands a group of offenders broke into the victim's home just before 11pm, singling him out from several people inside and shooting him multiple times at close range.

Paramedics tried to revive the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Superintendent Tracy Chapman confirmed the man died from a single gunshot wound.

"Other residents were at home at the time, no one was physically injured, there were six adults and two children," she said.

It's believed the offenders fled the scene in a car and are appealing for anyone who has any footage.

Police said this was a targeted attack.

"We don't believe this was a random attack and the community has no reasons to be concerned, " Chapman said.

Forensics combed the street today for clues that could lead them to the supposed fugitives.

Two cousins have been killed in a boating accident in NSW's New England region, with their grandfather at the controls when the teenage girls hit a submerged tree.

The teenagers were killed on a family holiday at Rushes Creek, north west of Tamworth.

The 13 and 14-year-old girls were tubing behind a boat when they slammed into a the tree stump late yesterday afternoon.

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A distraught Dale Jenner among locals who tried to save the teens and comfort their "devastated" grandfather, who was the skipper.

"We didn't see it but I knew they were in trouble when they were in between the trees and the girls we saw on the tube weren't on the tube anymore," he said.

"It was just a freak accident I think."

NSW Police Detective Superintendent Bruce Grassick said the boat was seized and will be examined.

The tragedy came amid a huge jump in water rescues across the state for the festive period.

A total of eight people have died in water-related accidents.

An unprecedented 630 people were pulled to safety in just 72 hours, NSW Ambulance said.

That's compared with a total of 900 people saved in the entire month of December last year.

A large number of those needing to be rescued have been children, and many have needed to be resuscitated.

Authorities are concerned swimming lessons have fallen by the wayside during COVID lockdowns.

Dedicated volunteers even refused to leave some beaches at the end of their shifts, after hot weather saw thousands enjoy the surf.

"We heard over the radio that our volunteer lifesavers were refusing to vacate the beach at the closure at 6pm," Steven Pearce from Surf Lifesaving NSW, said.

"They didn't want to leave the beach because we still had thousands of people on our coastline.

Emergency services are also searching for a man missing at a regional NSW swimming spot.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has urged people to take care.

Multiple people have also died in water-related accidents in Victoria, including a teen who drowned on Boxing Day.

Passengers on a Jetstar plane heading to Bali which was sent back to Melbourne after a "miscommunication" with Indonesian authorities have labelled the airline "a disgrace."

The flight, JQ35, had been in the air for four hours when it turned around and headed back to Victoria.

Jetstar has blamed a decision to change the aircraft for a bigger one for the blunder and admitted it was "extremely frustrating" for customers.

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JQ35 was due to leave Melbourne at 6.15pm and arrive in Denpasar at 9.15pm, with passengers set for a New Year holiday.

The flight was already delayed to 11.02pm but then instead of landing in the sunny holiday island, returned to Melbourne, landing at 9.47am.

The airline said passengers would fly today.

However, some travellers, like Deanna said it wasn't good enough.

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The stuff-up meant she missed her cousin's Balinese wedding.

"We are pretty pissed off, (and) just tired to be honest," she told 9News.

A Jetstar spokeswoman said: "We swapped yesterday's Melbourne to Bali service to a larger Boeing 787 aircraft to carry more customers during the holidays.

"Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication, the aircraft swap was not approved by the local regulator in Indonesia.

"As soon as we became aware, the flight returned to Melbourne, and we have rebooked passengers on a flight later today."

Jetstar said it had put passengers up in hotels and given them food vouchers, plus $200 flight vouchers.

The airline had promised to be more reliable over Christmas, after months of issues.

An Australian man has been killed fighting in Ukraine, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has confirmed.

Sage O'Donnell, from Victoria, died in action while "defending the freedom of the Ukrainian people", according to his mother.

She said in a statement that the family is "devastated" by the news.

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"Sage was much loved by his friends and family. Sage's humour, kind heart, values and laughter will be dearly missed. We are devastated by our recent loss of Sage," she said.

"Sage passionately upheld his values and served here in his own country and most recently in Ukraine.

"Sage chose to take action based on his empathy for the Ukrainian people, and the injustice that is taking place. He fell in love with Ukraine and its culture, and was humbled by the kindness and hospitality within his new community."

The mother said Sage "chose to live his life true to his beliefs and cause".

A DFAT spokesperson said they were "providing consular assistance to the family".

A man has died in police custody in Brisbane overnight.

Police said the 68-year-old man was arrested at a home in Fortitude Valley about 7pm in relation to alleged drug offences and taken to the Brisbane City Watch House.

Shortly after arriving in Brisbane, police said the man was found unresponsive in the police vehicle about 7.17pm.

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Officers gave the man first aid and paramedics attended the scene, but he couldn't be revived, police said.

The Ethical Standards Command is investigating his death and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

While Ryan Slight was taking his surfboard for a spin – there was a curious visitor beneath the waves who had come to join him.

A drone at Pukehina Beach in New Zealand recorded the encounter.

As Slight paddles his way through the transparent water, the telltale figure of a cruising shark emerges from the sandy fog.

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It casually makes its way closer and closer to Slight before continuing on its way.

According to experts, these interactions "likely happen every day".

Shark scientist Riley Elliot said most of the time, people don't even realise they are swimming in proximity to the finned predator.

Human sightings of sharks were only becoming more regular because of advances in new technology.

"If you put a drone up at most of our beaches you'd see sharks swimming around swimmers and surfers," he said.

"Sharks are not man-eaters, sharks do not have any interest in hunting us … but it is still a potentially dangerous animal, and you should show respect."

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Elliot said the bronze whaler swimming by Slight was "about six to seven feet long" and the interaction was "an amazing example of how sharks just do their own thing".

It didn't matter what coloured wetsuit you were wearing, which surfboard you were on or what you ate for lunch.

The copper-coloured fish liked to mind their own business and aren't really fazed by people.

They are rather nosy, however.

Bronze whalers were regular visitors to the white water areas of North Island beaches while they "sunbathed" and conserved their energy.

Coastal habitats were generally nursery grounds, but Elliot said it is still important to note that "at the end of the day we're in their supermarket".

"The waves provide a high oxygen environment for them where they can rest throughout the day."

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It would only switch their behaviour if there was lunch or dinner nearby.

So Elliot advised swimmers not to hang out in spots where there was fishing going on.

"When you bring fish into the equation they can become very enthusiastic, unpredictable and potentially dangerous.

"Especially when there is more than one shark present because they can turn into a pack of dogs."

The last fatal shark attack in the Bay of Plenty was in January 2021, when Hamilton woman Kaelah Marlow died at the Bowentown end of Waihī Beach after being mauled in the ocean by a great white shark.

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It was the first fatal shark attack in the region since 1976, when a spear fisherman was killed by a bronze whaler shark at Te Kaha – a small beach town near Ōpōtiki, North Island New Zealand.

Elliot and his team are currently investigating an uptake in juvenile great white sharks over the last three summers through their work for 'The Great White Project' which began in December.

They are sharing the data on an app where people can follow sharks tracked with satellite tags.

Climate change is having an impact on where sharks pop up, so the situation is always changing.

If people notice a shark nearby, the best thing to do is return to shore and "take a break".

Some species may appear less harmful than others, but Elliot cautioned people to think again and exit the water calmly and respectfully for a couple of hours.

"The best rule of thumb is just to move out of the water. It's their home, it's their environment."

This story originally appeared on Stuff and has been reproduced with permission.