While crypto investment scams are increasing rapidly across Australia, young individuals in particular are becoming more victims. Using more sophisticated methods, scammers offer fake opportunities for crypto investment and try to attract the public’s attention.

According to an Australian Federal Police (AFP) press release dated August 28, Australians have lost A$180 million (more than $122 million) to crypto investment scams in the past 12 months. In these scams, which particularly target young individuals, almost half of the investment fraud losses reported to the police involve cryptocurrencies.

60% of the victims are under the age of 50, which shows that scammers are increasingly turning to younger audiences. According to the data, Australians lost a total of A$382 million (about $260 million) due to investment fraud in the 2023-24 financial year, with almost half of these losses related to cryptocurrency.

Federal law enforcement, in collaboration with state and territorial police, warned the public, especially of investment opportunities that seemed too good to be true. The agency warned of tactics such as “pig butchering,” in which fraudsters establish long-term relationships with victims and then persuade them to invest.

In this method, fraudsters trick their victims into depositing their savings, usually by gaining trust, and then steal their money. Additionally, scammers use deepfake technology to impersonate trusted people and try to defraud more people this way.

This warning comes after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced it had taken down more than 7,300 phishing websites since July 2023. These sites include 5,530 fake investment platforms, 1,065 phishing scam links, and 615 crypto investment scam sites.

ASIC said fraudsters were promoting fake online investment platforms on social media, commonly using fake news articles and deepfake videos featuring public figures. These methods specifically target social media users, and scammers are trying to fool more people by using fake endorsements from trusted figures.

Investment scams remain the most common type of fraud affecting Australians. While total losses reached $1.3 billion in 2023, a significant part of these losses occurred due to crypto investment fraud.

. Scammers exploit people’s desire to earn fast and high profits and deceive them by offering fake investment platforms. These scams, often targeted through social media platforms, pose a major threat, especially to young individuals.

The rise of crypto investment scams shows that the public in Australia needs to be more wary of such scams. The federal police advise to be wary of people offering investment opportunities and to stay away from offers that seem too good to be true. It is also emphasized that one should be vigilant against fraudsters’ efforts to gain trust by using deepfake technologies.

ASIC and other authorities are constantly working to shut down phishing sites to prevent this type of fraudulent activity, but public awareness plays a critical role in preventing these scams.