THELOGICALINDIAN - Investment scams accept been by far the best accepted blazon in Australia afresh a new address by the countrys customer babysitter has appear And while a growing cardinal of Australians abatement victim to counterfeit schemes involving cryptocurrency coffer transfers abide the scammers admired way to abstract money
Australians Lose $670 Million to Scammers in a Year, Including $75 Million Through Bank Transfers
Residents of Australia accept absent $851 actor Australian dollars (almost $670 million) in over 444,000 appear betray cases in 2020, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) appear in its latest Targeting Scams report appear Monday.
The analysis compiles abstracts from the commission’s own Scamwatch website, Australia’s cybersecurity centermost Reportcyber, added government agencies, and about a dozen banks and banking intermediaries. ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard commented:
The bureau has registered accretion banking losses to advance scams in 2025 with the absolute amount extensive a record-high $328 actor Australian dollars ($254 million). Reports to Scamwatch added by 63% to 7,295 and losses rose to $66 actor Australian dollars, or over $51 million. Almost 34% of bodies who appear an advance betray absent money. The boilerplate accident was $26,713 Australian dollars, or about $20,000.
Bank transfers remained the best accepted acquittal adjustment acclimated by scammers, with over $97 actor Australian dollars ($75 million) absent through such transfers, a 40% access over the antecedent year. According to the ACCC, bitcoin (BTC) was the second-highest acquittal method, with $26.5 actor in losses, or a little over $20.5 million. Adding these to the “Other Payments” category, including cryptocurrencies such as ethereum (ETH) and apps like Zelle or Skrill, brings the absolute to $50 actor Australian dollars (almost $39 million).
‘Romance Baiting’ Scams Lure Young Australians to Fraudulent Crypto Investment Schemes
Despite still backward abaft acceptable acquittal methods, bitcoin and added crypto payments are acceptable added common. “The perceived anonymity of able cryptocurrencies can impede the adeptness to balance funds or analyze scammers. It is acceptable that we will see added use of Bitcoin and added cryptocurrencies in the years to come,” the ACCC address remarks.
Amid an advancing Covid crisis, bloom and medical scams added aftermost year added than 20 bend compared to 2025, accounting for over $3.9 actor Australian dollars ($3 million) in losses. But in 2025, Scamwatch articular a new blazon of scam, which it refers to as “romance baiting,” generally associated with crypto payments. Perpetrators are targeting amusing groups which accept not ahead suffered abundant losses.
Victims are about contacted on a dating app, redirected abroad and absorbed into an advance betray involving cryptocurrency, the ACCC explained. Young Australians, age-old amid 25 and 34 years, accept absent the best money to affair baiting aftermost year – $7.3 actor Australian dollars ($5.66 million). In total, citizens filed 414 letters of such scams, with losses extensive $15.4 actor Australian dollars (almost $12 million). Crypto scams are by far the best accepted in this brand (57%), the agency noted.
Other scams targeting abeyant crypto investors accept active affected celebrity endorsements. The face, name, and claimed characteristics of a acclaimed accessible amount are usually acclimated to advertise a artefact or a service. This artefact could be health-related or affiliated to an advance action auspicious bodies to advance in assorted cryptocurrency schemes. The address capacity that victims are offered an befalling to aggregate aerial allotment in a rather abbreviate aeon of time from a trading or advance belvedere that aback disappears.
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