This figure represents a 190% increase from the total sum recorded in 2017. Even with this increase, bitcoin fraud still accounts for a minute portion of the total financial crimes’ scene in Australia. According to ACCC figures, the total recorded losses from the more than 170,000 reported scams stood at USD 75 million. Thus, cryptocurrency-related fraud only amounted to 5% percent of the total losses attributed to fraudsters in the country.
The consumer protection watchdog says it recorded about 674 incidents of suspected scams that mostly targeted men aged 25 to 34. Most of these fraudulent schemes used social media platforms and emails to attract potential victims.
In the report titled “Targeting scams: Report of the ACCC on scams activity 2018,” the regulatory agency declared that investment fraud was the most popular scam. This type of scam accounted for about 42% of recorded losses (USD 1.8 million).
In many of the reported cases, fraudsters chose to use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a way of circumventing security protocols used by banks.
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