They had taken good care to verify the credentials of their advisors – but they lost their money just the same. The Federal police believe $100m has been scammed this year alone.
Cryptocurrency scams targeting Australians as scammers bank more than $100 million
By consumer affairs reporter Amy Bainbridge and the Specialist Reporting Team’s Lucy Kent
Posted 6h ago6 hours ago, updated 1h ago1 hours ago
Three families, three separate crypto scams. (ABC News)
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They’re three families, all from different parts of Australia.
They have vastly different backgrounds and financial situations.
But one common thread binds them: they have all been embroiled in scams involving cryptocurrency, the decentralised digital currency.
These scams have crippled their futures, with hundreds of thousands of dollars funnelled into the hands of cybercriminals, and lost forever.
Australian Federal Police say cryptocurrency scams have “exploded” during the pandemic, with new figures from the Australian consumer watchdog showing a 172 per cent increase in losses between January and November this year, totalling $109 million.
What is cryptocurrency?
- Cryptocurrency, or “crypto”, is decentralised “digital money”
- There are more than 10,000 cryptocurrencies in use around the world
- The Australian Tax Office estimates up to 600,000 Australians have invested in “crypto-assets”
- Some cryptocurrencies have exploded it value over the past two years
- The technology has been praised for its portability, inflation resistance and transparency
- But criticisms centre on its exchange rate volatility and its susceptibility to illegal activity and scams
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