Australians Lose $180 Million to Crypto Scams in a Year, Says Federal Police

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) issued a significant alert on Wednesday, disclosing that Australians have lost a minimum of $180 million to cryptocurrency investment scams over the past year.

According to the AFP data, individuals under the age of 50 are the ones most targeted, surpassing older Australians. New data from the Australian Cyber Security Center (ACSC) also revealed that nearly half of the $382 million lost in investment scams involved cryptocurrency.

The AFP, along with the state and territory police, has launched a campaign called “Share a Story, Stop a Scam” to educate Australians on recognizing and avoiding scams, such as investment opportunities that sound too good to be true.

The AFP noted two of the most common scams in Australia: the pig butchering scam and the deepfake scam.

Pig butchering scams involve scammers establishing relationships with the victims for weeks and months and coaxing them to invest in fake schemes. Victims often fall prey to such scams since they are lured in by convincing fake returns.

Recently, a former Heartland Tri-State Bank CEO fell victim to a pig butchering scam and was sentenced to more than 24 years in federal prison for stealing $47 million.

He had transferred the funds from Heartland Tri-State Bank to various cryptocurrency wallets controlled by scammers.

The AFP revealed that deepfakes are another form of deceptive tool targeting a lot of people. Using deepfakes, people create videos and images of celebrities to promote fake cryptocurrency schemes. The deepfakes are made with extreme perfection and can be highly convincing.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Richard Chin urged people to seek financial advice before investing in schemes. He also requested that people report scams to financial institutions or via cyber.gov.au.

“We want to reassure the community that the AFP, together with our state and Commonwealth law enforcement partners, are committed to assisting victims and stopping scammers in their tracks,” he said.

He further requested all victims to stop communicating with the scammer (if they fell prey to any scams), move funds from the account the scammer could access to another account, remove any authorizations given to them, and not make any further transfers.

“We want to educate Australians about some common tactics these criminals are using to deceive Australians every day into handing over their hard-earned money,” Chin concluded.

Gairika holds positions in BTC. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

Post Views: 236