Australian regulator shuts down thousands of fraudulent crypto sites
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has taken down 7,300 fraudulent investment websites, including cryptocurrency endorsements, in one year. The scams often surfaced on social media channels, and ASIC has been targeting them since 2023.
A recent report from Chainalysis stated that illicit activity has fallen by almost 20% this year, while legitimate activity has seen growth. Meanwhile, Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre reported that financial losses have decreased, but the number of scams in the region has increased.
Australians lost $2.77 billion to scams in 2023
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) launched a program to combat investment scams in July 2023. As reported by The Guardian, the program took down 7,300 scam websites in its first year. The scam sites included over 5,500 trading sites, nearly 1,000 phishing attempts, and 615 fake cryptocurrency platforms.
