Friday , March 29 2024
Home / Bitcoin (BTC) / Australians Reported Loses of $25M from Crypto Scams in the First Half of 2021

Australians Reported Loses of $25M from Crypto Scams in the First Half of 2021

Summary:
Cryptocurrency scams were reportedly the most common type of fraud in Australia during the first six months of the year. Locals parted with roughly million after becoming victims of such fraudulent schemes. ‘If Something Sounds Too Good to Be True, It Probably Is’ According to a recent report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), investment scams have risen to record levels in the country this year. Interestingly, frauds involving digital assets represent half of the total cases. Delia Rickard – ACCC Deputy Chair – revealed Aussies lost nearly 70 million AUD (or 50 million USD) because of such scams for the period between January and July 2021. Cryptocurrencies, and especially Bitcoin, ranked first as the most common investment frauds: “More

Topics:
Dimitar Dzhondzhorov considers the following as important: , , , , , , ,

This could be interesting, too:

Chayanika Deka writes USDT Transaction Volume Soars on TRON DAO, Hits 2 Million Daily

Wayne Jones writes Ethereum Hits 1 Million Validators Prompting Community Concerns

Mandy Williams writes Here’s Why Bitcoin ETF Flows Will Continue for Years, According to Bitwise CIO

Andrew Throuvalas writes Vitalik Explains Ethereum’s Next Steps After Dencun Upgrade

Cryptocurrency scams were reportedly the most common type of fraud in Australia during the first six months of the year. Locals parted with roughly $25 million after becoming victims of such fraudulent schemes.

‘If Something Sounds Too Good to Be True, It Probably Is’

According to a recent report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), investment scams have risen to record levels in the country this year. Interestingly, frauds involving digital assets represent half of the total cases.

Delia Rickard – ACCC Deputy Chair – revealed Aussies lost nearly 70 million AUD (or 50 million USD) because of such scams for the period between January and July 2021. Cryptocurrencies, and especially Bitcoin, ranked first as the most common investment frauds:

“More than half of the $70 million in losses were to cryptocurrency, especially through Bitcoin, and cryptocurrency scams were also the most commonly reported type of investment scam, with 2,240 reports.”

Ms. Rickard added that bad actors often lure victims with promises of high profits and zero investment risks. She warned that such cases should raise investors’ attention instead of joining them carelessly:

“Be wary of investment opportunities with low risk and high returns. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Delia Rickard
Delia Rickard, Source ABC News

Life Savings Lost in a Crypto Scam

Dealing with digital currencies can be risky not only because of the asset class’ volatility but also because of the numerous bad actors in the industry.

As CryptoPotato reported in May, an Australian nurse waiting for her retirement became a victim of such a fraudulent scheme and lost her entire life savings.

The resident of Sydney – Rhonda – was browsing the internet when she saw an advertisement offering bitcoin investment using a fake celebrity endorsement by popular people in Australia.

She found the offer interesting and ”invested” $350, entering her email address and phone number into a brief online form. Rhonda had some positive returns at the beginning and enjoyed good communication with the people behind the scam.

The woman was aiming to make more and more money and periodically fueled more funds into the investment. Unfortunately, when checking her account after a while, Rhonda noticed that hundreds of thousands of dollars were missing.

The Australian officials have been trying to find the scammers and help the victim restore her money, but the operation has failed. Furthermore, the nurse said her plans of retirement were now gone.

You Might Also Like:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *