Fraudsters still prefer bank transfer to crypto fraud

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said in its annual Targeting Scams report that residents of Australia lost AUD 851 million in over 444,000 reported scam instances in 2020.

The evaluation gathers information from the commission’s own Scamwatch website, Australia’s cybersecurity centre Reportcyber, other government agencies, and a dozen banks and financial intermediaries.

In 2020, the agency recorded an increase in financial losses due to investment frauds, with the overall amount reaching a record-high AUD 328 million. Almost 34% of those who reported an investment fraud lost money. The average loss was AUD 26,713.

Scammers continued to use bank transfers as the most prevalent payment method, with over AUD 97 million stolen through such transfers, a 40% increase over the previous year. Bitcoin was the second-highest payment method, with AUD 26.5 million in losses, according to the ACCC. When they are combined with the ‘Other Payments’ category, which includes cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and apps such as Zelle or Skrill, the total is AUD 50 million.