Crypto scams in Australia have increased by 190 percent. Australians lost $4.1 million in 2018 as the result of the scams. Australian authorities received 674 reports saying that money was used to pay scammers in 2017.
Most of the people who were victims of a scam stated that they were trying to use cryptocurrency to have access to forex trading. They were told that they had to make crypto payments or use digital currency. Half of the people who were scammed were men between the ages of 25 and 34.
One unnamed victim described the horrors that he has gone through as the result of being scammed. He was asked to complete a trial task before starting a job. He was told that he had to convert money into Bitcoin and send it to investors. His bank accounts have been frozen as the result of this fraudulent transaction. He is working with the bank and is hoping that he will have access to his accounts soon.
In a report by Coin Telegraph, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has given people tips that will help them avoid being a victim of a scam. He stated that people should be wary of using crypto, remittance services, iTunes gift cards and other unusual methods of payment. They should also be wary of any requests that comes from a government agency.
Stefanos Papanastasiou is an Australian crypto manager. He was taken to court because he caused his clients to lose $14 million. He told his clients that he needed them to transfer money to his sister and wife. However, he was unable to pay his clients back when they requested money.
Stefanos’s wife and sister stated that they were not aware that he had a crypto business. The clients are trying to get the $14 million that they lost back.
