The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission Receives Complaints over Cryptocurrency Scams
The number of scams and scammers associated to cryptocurrencies has grown along with the interest offered by investors to this market. Of course, as the price of several digital currencies grows, the risk of scams becomes higher. Now, it seems that an Australian regulator has revealed it received an impressive number of cryptocurrency scam complaints.
Australian consumer watchdog received 1,200 crypto scam complaints last year
Over the course of last year, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), the consumer watchdog of the country, has received more than 1,200 complaints regarding cryptocurrency scams. According to data obtained by ABC's 7.30, a total of 1,289 complaints were received by the authority in relation to bitcoin scams.
The complainants reported a total of AUD 1, 218,206 in losses. Some cases of fraud reportedly date back to 2014. An investor claimed that he was defrauded back then by an exchange called Igot. He said he lost the equivalent of $20,000 in bitcoin at that time. According to the investor, ever since the theft happened, he has been trying to get his money back but received little help from authorities.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has warned investors about the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.
“These are quite speculative products and they can be quite high-risk. It’s been quite well documented that some of these products are scams, so please don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose some or all of your money.”
Australian authorities have tried to address some of the concerns on the market with some new regulations regarding cryptocurrency exchanges. Starting with the month of April, exchanges will have to register with AUSTRAC, the financial intelligence agency of the country. AUSTRAC has also warned about the risks of cryptocurrencies being used to finance organized crime and terrorism.
