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The increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies has brought in unethical individuals or commonly known as fraudsters. Recently, scams involving cryptocurrency investments have increased in Australia, a nation leading the way in crypto usage. The Australian Cyber Security Centre reported that an alarming 47% of investment scams in 2023–24 used cryptocurrencies, with victims losing over A$382 million ($259 million).
The investment fraud study has shown an alarming trend as 60% of the individuals who fell victim to scams were below 50. This number challenges the prevailing belief that only older generations are vulnerable to these fraudulent schemes. AFP Assistant Commissioner Richard Chin stressed that fraudsters use sophisticated strategies to target individuals of various age groups.
Scammers often use pressure tactics and different methodologies to lure victims into making poor investment decisions, with promises of high returns and little risk
Chin identified two common strategies employed by scammers: pig butchering, which entails developing rapport with the victim over time and subsequently persuading them to invest in fraudulent schemes, and Deepfakes, which employs artificial intelligence to generate fabricated investment advertisements and articles featuring prominent public figures.
The AFP advises the public to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious activity, as these strategies are highly effective.
In Australia, online investment scams have skyrocketed in the last year, with fraud involving cryptocurrencies playing a major role in this trend.
Over 600 of the 5,000 fraudulent investment websites the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) removed were associated with bitcoin frauds. Recently, ASIC said that it had eliminated more than 5,000 fraudulent investment websites, 600 of which had some connection to cryptocurrency.
The research argues that enforcement is necessary, given that investment frauds resulted in $1.3 billion in losses in 2023. Australians have lost more than $259 million to internet investment fraud, prompting the federal police to step up their awareness campaign against the increasing danger.
The Australian Federal Police is now duty-bound to educate the public about the increasing danger of cryptocurrency fraud.
Authorities have launched a new initiative to raise public awareness about investment fraud called Scam Awareness Week. From August 26th through the 30th, the AFP will air an ad campaign encouraging people to "share a story, stop a scam" and denounce these deceitful practices. Crypto scams are getting worse every year, and thanks to innovations like AI, it's getting harder to catch them in the act.
Immunefi, an on-chain analytics company, has published a study detailing 72 hacking incidents affecting several protocols, which resulted in a total loss of more than $572.6 million. Fraud was responsible for $8.45 million of this total loss, spread among 19 cases.
Two quarters into 2024, the overall deficit jumped 24% year over year to $920 million. The net loss for Q2 2024 is 112% higher than in Q2 2023. Seventy percent of the losses in the second quarter's crypto thefts were in centralized finance.
Read More: Crypto Hacks In 2023: A Year in Review
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A web 3 girl living in a web 2 world.