Australians lost a shocking $122 million to cryptocurrency scams last year. In fact, digital currencies were used in almost half of all financial scams. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said that 60% of the victims were under 50 years old. This is different from the past, when older people were more likely to be victims.
Scammers mostly used “pig butchering” and deepfake technology to trick people. Building a friendship with the victim on social media before getting them to spend in scams is called “pig butchering.” On the other hand, deepfakes use advanced AI to make believable fake audio and video, often with famous people like Elon Musk, to get investors who don’t know what’s going on.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Richard Chin stressed how important it is to stay skeptical, recognizing that many people may not know they’ve been lied to or feel too embarrassed to say so. The money that is stolen is often used to pay other crimes, like drug dealing and laundering money.
Scamwatch data also showed that investment scams are still a problem. Australians have lost over $68 million so far in 2024 alone. Scamwatch says that younger Australians are being targeted more and more, but people over 50 are still often victims.
