Crypto-related scams accounted for 7.1% of all funds Australians lost to scams in 2022.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia, has published a scam activity report.
According to the report shared on April 17th, crypto scams in Australia skyrocketed in 2022, with a 162% increase and victims losing close to $150 million.
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In particular, Australians lost around $148.3 million (or AU $221.3 million) to crypto-related investment scams.
Overall, the ACCC received 3,910 reports of crypto scam incidents, with the average victim paying $37,900 (or AU$56,600) to malicious actors.
It is worth noting that the amount lost to crypto scams accounted for 7.1% of all funds Australians lost to scams in 2022. It is estimated that Aussies lost around $2.08 billion (or AU$3.1 billion) to various scams.
Despite the rise in crypto scams, bank transfers remained the most common fraud method, with nearly $141 million lost and 13,100 scam reports submitted.
The ACCC report revealed that crypto scammers communicated with the victims through social media and networking apps. On the other hand, bank payment scammers used phones and email.
ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe claimed that the surge in scams is linked with the new technologies enabling scammers to employ more sophisticated tactics to deceive victims.
We have seen alarming new tactics emerge which make scams incredibly difficult to detect. This includes everything from impersonating official phone numbers, email addresses and websites of legitimate organizations to scam texts that appear in the same conversation thread as genuine messages.
Lowe also noted that while the figures are "alarming," the "true cost" of scams goes beyond financial losses, as they cause "emotional distress to victims, their families, and businesses."
To "combat" scams more effectively and reduce the numbers, Lowe called for stronger collaboration between the Australian government, law enforcement, and the private sector.
On April 11th, the Australian tech industry urged the government to ban ransomware payments, claiming it would help prevent criminals from hosting these attacks.
