Australian crypto scams cut back with regulatory involvement

crypto scam

A new trial by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been implemented to work to reduce the number of scams sites in the country. The new trial is set to resolve how many Australians lose money to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency scams.

According to the ACCC, over the last year Australians have suffered over $113 million USD in losses over cryptocurrency scams that have not been regulated. The trial by the commission will see a partnership with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). In the intuitive, the commissions will create a way to effectively and efficiently remove scam websites once they have been reported. Austrian regulators will be involved in this regulatory process.

According to the ACCC, it will be using a services from Netcraft, a United Kingdom-based firm, as part of its cybersecurity framework. Since the trial has been launched, several scam sites have already been taken down inducing phishing sites that are designed to impersonate both businesses and authorities in the country. Other scams include “puppy scams, shoe scams, cryptocurrency investment scams and tech support scams.”

Data from ACCC shows that the number of Australians that have lost money from crypto-investment scams has spiked by 300% in just the last four months. Primarily text-based, these scammers target vulnerable investors with genuine-looking links, which are ultimately phishing links.
Just last month, the ACCC cut back on scam phone calls, reducing the number by more than 50%. As part of the bid to reduce scams across industries, the ACCC is looking to create sustainable ways to alleviate scams. The chief executive of the Communications Alliance, John Stanton commented on how difficult it can be to act on scams in time:

“The difficulty is that the scammers are incredibly agile. As soon as they see one avenue being blocked they’re very good at finding a new one to exploit. So it’s a constant car chase to try to prevent that activity.”

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