According to a report by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australians have lost $122 million due to cryptocurrency scams over the past year. The report highlights a growing trend of younger victims, with nearly 60% of those affected being under the age of 50.
Use of Modern Tech
Assistant Commissioner Richard Chin of the AFP emphasized that the majority of these scams leveraged modern technology to deceive victims. Two particularly prevalent methods identified were “pig butchering” and the use of deepfakes. Pig butchering involves scammers cultivating personal relationships with their targets via social media or other platforms before persuading them to invest in fraudulent schemes. On the other hand, deepfakes use artificial intelligence (AI) to create convincing audio and video content to lure victims into fake investment opportunities. Chin also expressed concern that the reported losses might only represent a fraction of the true scale of the problem. The financial losses from these scams are often used to fuel other criminal activities, including money laundering, drug trafficking, and human exploitation.
Australia's Struggles
Data from the Australian Government’s Scamwatch website corroborates these findings, showing that investment scams continue to be the most significant source of financial losses for Australians. In 2024 alone, reported losses from such scams have exceeded $68 million ($100 million AUD). In response to the rising tide of crypto-related fraud, HSBC Australia recently announced that it would block payments to cryptocurrency exchanges.
This report comes on the heels of an announcement by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on August 19, revealing a crackdown on crypto scams over the past year. ASIC’s efforts resulted in the dismantling of over 600 AI-driven fraudulent schemes. In response to the rising tide of crypto-related fraud, HSBC Australia recently announced that it would block payments to cryptocurrency exchanges.
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