Australia is one of the leading countries when it comes to crypto adoption. Digital currencies have become very popular among both retail and institutional investors. However, due to the lack of in-depth regulations, investors are open to the risk of scams and losses when trading crypto. Some of the most common crypto scams in Australia include:
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Fraudulent investments
With low interest rates, most Australians have been looking for lucrative investment opportunities. While it would make sense to save money in the bank, banks currently offer low returns. That is where the crypto comes in. Bitcoin and other digital currencies have had massive growth and Australians are looking to make a killing from Bitcoin’s continued uptrend.
With most people still not knowledgeable on how to trade crypto, they depend on account managers, influencers, and others. Some of these people might turn out to be fraudulent. For example, ABC News reported, some Australians have lost up to $500,000 in fraudulent investments.
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Celebrity Bitcoin scam
One of the biggest crypto scams is the use of celebrity endorsements on sites that look legitimate to get investors to put their money in fraudulent projects. Celebrities that people are familiar with tend to bring a level of unwarranted trust that may see an investor pour funds into a project they may have otherwise avoided. Since 2018, several Australian celebrities like Andrew Forrest, Dick Smith and other celebrities have been used as part of these celebrity scams.
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Crypto Wallet Compromises
This is where a scammer compromises a crypto wallet’s security to access personal data and render the customer’s wallet inaccessible. For example, in 2020, Ledger, one of the leading crypto wallet producers suffered a major breach affecting more than one million addresses. The scam involved a scammer sending defective hardware to Ledger wallet users with a purported note from the CEO claiming there’s a need to switch hardware. Wallets can also be compromised by phishing attacks or locating a private key stored on someone’s computer or mobile device.
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Cryptojacking
Cryptojacking is when a computer is used to mine crypto without the owner’s knowledge. In most cases, it involves infiltrating the computer’s processing power through malware. The miner, therefore, gets mining rewards by using the victim’s computer’s resources while the owner receives nothing. An example of a previous cryptojacking was in 2018 when thousands of government websites were infected by mining malware.
How to keep safe from crypto scams
Knowing crypto scams is not enough, you have to understand how to keep safe to avoid losing money or computer processing power to scammers. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has already noted the rise in crypto scams. The agency, therefore, urges Australians to be careful when dealing with crypto.
One of the leading ways to keep safe from crypto scams is by avoiding any deal that seems “too good to be true.” Most scammers understand that investors are looking to crypto for quick money. However, like any other money-making scheme, no money comes easily.
At the same time, ensure the security of your online activities. Only access your wallets through personal devices and avoid keying in personal details on unfamiliar websites, and do not click anything suspicious. Most importantly do not share your private keys with anyone and do not store them on your devices (if you must, then please encrypt it).
