In Australia, the most reported fraud was scams during this year’s first half. Locals were deprived of nearly $25M following their victimization by the fraudulent schemes. The majority of the scams were related to Bitcoin (BTC).
ACCC and crypto scams
It has been reported recently by the ACCC (Australian-Competition-and-Consumer-Commission) that the crypto scams expedited to the highest levels across the country during this year. And in these frauds, digital assets counted to a 50% amount which is considered alarming. The Deputy Chair of ACCC ‘Delia Rickard’ disclosed that Australians lost roughly 70M AUD (50M USD) in such scams from January to July this year. Cryptocurrencies were the prominent factor in these investment frauds, and particularly Bitcoin was atop them. More than 2,240 filed cases also indicate the significance of these scams.
Ms. Rickard stated that wicked people time and again tempt victims by promising extraordinary returns and nil investment risks. She advised that these cases should increase the attention of the investors rather than appealing to join them hastily. She concluded with an idiomatic expression saying if something seems too good to believe in, it probably is.
All savings went in a scam
Doing crypto trading and investment can get much riskier sometimes due to the volatility of the asset class; nonetheless, it can also be the result of many bad-natured persons within the crypto industry. In May, it was reported that an Australian nurse, who was awaiting her retirement, turn out to be prey to a similar fraudulent scheme. As a result, she lost all of her life savings. Rhonda, a citizen of Sydney, was surfing the internet while she happened to look at a promotion that offered investment in Bitcoin by presenting a celebrity endorsing it (such people utilize the images of popular celebrities to illegally get their malicious purposes).
She was impressed by the offer and subsequently invested about $350 after filling up her phone number and email address into a short online form. In the beginning, she was given some promised returns, and she also enjoyed communicating with individuals at the back of the scam. Rhonda was interested in making a lot of money through investing. Nonetheless, when she opened her account after some time, she was shocked to see that millions of dollars vanished. The authorities did their best to detect the scammers and assist in restoring her money, but they failed. Moreover, the nurse expressed that her retirement plans were disappeared after the scam.