Australians reportedly lost at least AUD 180 million (approximately $122 million) to cryptocurrency investment frauds over the past year.

Victims under 50 now make up around 60% of scam reports, overtaking older Australians, who are typically considered more vulnerable to such projects.

Crypto-Based Investment Scams in Australia

The data, gathered by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) from police reports via cyber.gov.au, shows total losses of AUD 382 million (approximately $269 million) to investment scams in the 2023-24 financial year, with 47% of these losses attributed to cryptocurrency.

Moreover, around 60% of these reports came from Australians under 50. AFP Assistant Commissioner Richard Chin highlighted that this data challenges the misconception that only older individuals fall victim to fraud.

Chin emphasized that bad actors frequently employ high-pressure tactics and a variety of methods to deceive victims into making poor investment choices, with pig butchering schemes and deepfake technology being two widespread strategies.

He also advised the community to remain cautious and avoid feeling pressured to invest while encouraging individuals with doubts to cease communication, seek independent financial advice, and report any suspected investment scams to their financial institution or digital currency exchange, as well as to alert the authorities through cyber.gov.au.

Chin said that the AFP and its policing partners are closely collaborating with the banking industry and digital currency exchanges to assist victims of investment scams and attempt to recover funds lost to bad actors.

Chin also added,

If an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Financial gain is what motivates most scammers however stolen funds could be used to bankroll future criminal ventures such as money laundering, trafficking illicit drugs, or human exploitation. We have seen instances where people are exploited and made to work in horrific conditions for organized crime groups to scam people.

Investment Scams in Australia

Earlier this month, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) disclosed that it had closed down 615 cryptocurrency investment scams in the first year of its effort to address fraudulent investment websites.

The Australian governments Fighting Scams initiative relies heavily on ASICs capability to take down investment scam websites, playing a critical role in thwarting fraud and protecting Australians.

Suspicious websites are referred to a dedicated cybercrime detection firm, and once evidence of malicious activity is confirmed, the takedown is carried out, usually with input from various government and industry partners. ASICs joint efforts with the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) have contributed to reducing such losses from $1.5 billion in 2022 to $1.3 billion in 2023.