Australia’s ASIC Cracks Down Over 600 Crypto Scams Since July 2023

On Sunday, Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced its vigorous efforts to dismantle a multitude of deceptive websites promoting illegitimate investment schemes, encompassing counterfeit trading platforms and cryptocurrency scams. Many of these fraudulent activities proliferate on social media platforms, frequently leveraging spurious endorsements from celebrities to lure victims.

The regulator said it assisted in removing over 5,500 fraudulent investment sites, more than 1,000 phishing links, and 615 crypto scam websites since July 2023.

Looking back at the previous year, scams, primarily orchestrated through fake investment trading platforms, inflicted estimated losses of AUD 1.3 billion. These scams were disseminated using false news articles and sophisticated deepfake videos featuring prominent local personalities, with the majority of such websites being targeted and shut down by ASIC.

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Australians Still Losing Billions to Scams, Daily Website Shutdowns Required, ASIC Warns

“Australians are still losing billions of dollars each year to scams,“ said ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court. “Scammers are criminals targeting the hip pockets of hard-working Australians – they don’t discriminate, and they use sophisticated techniques to steal information and money.”

She noted that on average, 20 scam investment websites are removed daily, stressing the need for swift action to protect Australians from further harm by scammers. Separately, Australian law enforcement uncovered recently discovered over 2,000 hacked crypto wallets.

Over Half of Crypto Ads on Meta Found to Deceive Users

Following last week’s announcement by Australia’s competition watchdog, which disclosed that over half of the cryptocurrency advertisements on Meta’s platform either deceive users or violate the company’s advertising policies.

These deceptive ads frequently misuse the images of well-known Australians like Dick Smith and James Packer. They also feature Hollywood stars such as Chris Hemsworth, Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Mike Baird.

Throughout 2024, Australia witnessed an influx of over 3,400 reports pertaining to investment scams, resulting in staggering losses exceeding $78 million. The competition watchdog has pinpointed approximately 600 advertisements that may potentially violate Meta’s policies, with its current investigation primarily zeroed in on 234 of these ads.

The commission suspects that more instances of misleading crypto advertisements might come to light as the legal discovery progresses.

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