ASIC Shows How to Spot a Cryptocurrency Scam

The Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC) published a list of the top ten potential cryptocurrency scam signs on Tuesday. The action is a part of the current Scams Awareness Week 2022 organized by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), taking place between 7 and 11 November.

According to the financial market watchdog statement, cryptocurrency fraud can be categorized into three separate groups. The first one includes fake cryptocurrency exchanges, websites and applications. The second contains scam crypto tokens and trading bots used to steal real assets, and the third one features frauds that use crypto instruments to make payments (like ransomware).

“Australians lost more than $701 million to investment scams in 2021, up 135% from the previous year, and these scams are continuing to increase. The main driver of the increase was cryptocurrency investment scams, where losses increased by 270%. The ACCC have advised that losses to crypto scams have increased further in 2022,” Sarah Court, the Deputy Chair of ASIC, said.

“Given this concerning trend, we want to arm Australians with the information they need to protect themselves from scammers.”

You can find the list of the top ten signs of a potential cryptocurrency scam below:

1. Receiving an offer out of the blue,
2. Seeing a fake celebrity ad,
3. Sending cryptocurrency to an online romantic partner,
4. Transferring assets from one crypto exchange to another under the pressure of a third party,
5. Paying for unverified financial services with cryptos,
6. Using an app not listed on the Apple Store or Google Play Store,
7. Paying more to gain or recover access to own money,
8. Taking part in free money or 'guaranteed returns' campaigns,
9. Sighting unknown and strange tokens in your crypto wallet,
10. Withholding trading earnings “for tax purposes” by the investment provider.

Scams Awareness Week 2022

The ACCC announced the start of Scams Awareness Week 2022 on Monday. This year’s edition covers more than 350 partner organizations and discusses how to properly identify and report potential financial scams.

Last year, Australian citizens reported more than $324 million in losses and made 286,600 reports to Scamwatch. According to the ACCC, approximately 30% of scammed consumers never tell anyone. In reality, the number of deceived consumers may be much higher.

“When Australians fall victim to scams the cost is often more than purely financial. Scams cause emotional stress and can impact relationships,” Court added.

Last week, ASIC announced 12 “Enforcement Priorities” for 2023, which focus on protecting consumers from financial harm. The new list includes greenwashing, social media misinformation and cryptocurrencies.