Crypto Fraud in Australia Is Increasing, Advocates Ask to Maximize the Role of Banks

Cryptocurrencies continue to rise in Australia. (photo: doc. pixabay)

Jakarta - Australians continue to be scammed by investments and other scams related to crypto. Even according to the latest Scamwatch data, so far they have lost around AUD 242.5 million to scammers in 2022.

From January to July this year, the vast majority of funds lost to all types of scams were investment scams, which range from romantic bait scams to classic Ponzi schemes and cryptocurrency scams.

That figure is already 36% higher than the figure for the whole of 2021, which revealed that Australians lost A$178.2 million to investment fraud in that year.

It's a threat that has prompted consumer advocates to push banks to assume more responsibility for redressing fraud to "encourage greater investment in stopping fraud."

According to a Thursday September 8 report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), advocacy groups are pushing for reforms that require banks to check the recipient's name matches the account name when money is transferred online.

“The key reform is shifting that responsibility from individual consumers to banks in terms of fraud losses,” said Consumer Action Law Center CEO Gerard Brody. "They [the bank] ask for your account name, but they don't actually check it."

However, the bank wants more customers to use the optional PayID technology, which allows customers to see the name attached to the BSB and account number.

Brody said it was clear that the optional system that forced consumers to take full responsibility for preventing fraud was not working.

Australian authorities appear to have stepped up scrutiny over the crypto space amid rising crypto scams, hacks and a general downturn in the market.

On Sunday, September 11 Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) commissioner Sean Hughes reportedly urged investors to understand that investing in crypto assets is a form of “extreme risk taking.”

“We want to be very clear and unambiguous in our message to consumers entering the market,” ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes said at the Governance Institute conference, as quoted by Cointelegraph. “We think that crypto assets are highly volatile, inherently risky and complex.”

In August, the Australian Federal Police set up a special team to monitor crypto-related transactions after previously calling cryptocurrencies an “emerging threat” amid rising criminal activity around technology.

The month also saw the new Labor government of Australia announce its stance on crypto regulations, while crypto exchange Binance Australia also announced in August that it was tightening the onboarding process for new users to protect people flagged as most vulnerable to crypto financial crime.