ASIC Warns against Cryptcurrency Scam Appasiccoin.org

On Tuesday, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) issued a warning, alerting investors about appasiccoin.org website, which is using cryptocurrencies to potentially scam retail traders. Despite claims the regulator endorses its activities, it does not possess an Australian financial services (AFS) authorization.

ASIC highlights three points that should suggest to investors that they are dealing with a scam. Firstly, it uses ASIC's logo without the regulator's approval (the institution stresses that it has never endorsed any individual company or business). Secondly, appasiccoin.org us an encrypted messaging system to advertise its scam, providing almost no contact information, and thirdly, ASIC does not license the website or its operator.

"Do not invest in this product. ASIC does not endorse it or any other investments. The appasiccoin.org also does not have the permission to use ASIC's name and has no affiliation with ASIC," the regulator commented in the press release published on Tuesday.

It is worth noting that the Australian financial watchdog is not notifying the public about potential cryptocurrency scams very often. The last time it published an official 'crypto scam alert' was in January 2021 regarding Alliance Limited. The allegations against alliancelimited.org were very similar to those currently involving appasiccoin.org

Crypto Scams Hit Traders Hard in the Last Year

As the popularity of the cryptocurrency market continues to grow, even despite the ongoing cryptocurrency winter, crimes, theft and fraud are becoming more common in the industry. According to the latest report published by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in June, since the start of last year, more than $1 billion worth of cryptos has been stolen or lost due to a wide variety of scams.

"Investment scammers claim they can quickly and easily get huge returns for investors. But, those crypto 'investments' go straight to a scammer's wallet. People report that investment websites and apps let them track the growth of their crypto, but it's all fake," the FTC reported at the time.

More than half of the amount mentioned above ($575 million) involved investment-related fraud. Another $185 million was lost due to 'romance fraud'.

ASIC itself has secured a total of $229.9 million in penalties from its enforcement actions from the beginning of the last financial year until now.