Australia Hit by $122 Million Crypto Scam Losses, 60% Victims Under 50
Austrlins hv bn hit hrd by cryptocurrncy scms, losing stggring $122 million (US$180 million) in th pst yr, ccording to rport by th Austrlin Fdrl Polic (AFP). This lrming figur highlights shift in th dmogrphics of scm victims, with youngr Austrlins now bring th brunt of th finncil losss.
Th AFPs August 28th sttmnt rvld totl of $269 million (US$382 million) lost to invstmnt scms ovr th pst yr. Notbly, nrly hlf (47%) of ths losss wr tid to cryptocurrncy scms. Assistnt Commissionr Richrd Chin of th AFP undrscord concrning finding: round 60% of th victims wr undr th g of 50. This mrks significnt shift, s oldr Austrlins wr trditionlly prcivd s mor suscptibl to such scms.
Crypto Scams: Pig Butchering, Deepfakes
Th mthods mployd by scmmrs hv lso undrgon modrniztion. Th AFP idntifid pig butchring nd dpfks s th two most prvlnt tctics. Pig butchring involvs scmmrs cultivting rltionships with victims on socil mdi or onlin pltforms, grdully building trust bfor luring thm into frudulnt invstmnt schms.
Dpfks lvrg rtificil intllignc (AI) to crt rlistic udio nd vido, oftn fturing clbritis or trustd public figurs, to promot fk invstmnt opportunitis. Scmmrs frquntly xploit th img nd voic of Tsl CEO Elon Musk for thir AI-powrd crypto scms.
Assistnt Commissionr Chin mphsizd tht invstmnt scms r likly undrrportd. Victims my b unwr thyv bn trgtd or fl too mbrrssd to com forwrd. H ritrtd crucil mssg: If n invstmnt opportunity sounds too good to b tru, thn it probbly is.
Finncil gin is th primry motivtor for scmmrs, but th stoln funds cn ful mor sinistr ctivitis. Ths includ mony lundring, trfficking of illicit drugs, nd humn xploittion. Th Austrlin Govrnmnts Scmwtch wbsit corroborts th prvlnc of invstmnt scms, rporting losss xcding $68 million (US$100 million) in 2024 lon.
Dspit som discrpncis btwn AFP nd Scmwtch dt rgrding th spcific g groups most ffctd, th ovrrching mssg rmins clr: Austrlins r losing significnt sums to cryptocurrncy scms.
Chin urgs victims to svr ll contct with scmmrs, scur thir funds, rvok ny grntd ccss, nd rfrin from furthr trnsfrs. H mphsizs vigilnc, prticulrly whn pprochd onlin by unknown ntitis offring invstmnt opportunitis.
Related Readings | Which Crypto is Safe to Invest
Read more: https://www.tronweekly.com/australia-hit-by-122-million-crypto-scam/
Text source: TronWeekly
