Australian Securities and Investments Commission [ASIC] has taken down over 7,300 phishing and investment scam websites. A significant chunk of them were crypto-related.
As far as the breakdown is concerned, the regulatory watchdog notified,
“July 2023, ASIC has coordinated the removal of over 5,530 fake investment platform scams, 1,065 phishing scam hyperlinks and 615 cryptocurrency investment scams.”
Via investment scams, over A$1.3 billion losses were registered in 2023 alone. The regulator cautioned users to remain vigilant w.r.t. social media hyperlinks that promote online trading and crypto investments.
The ASIC further notified users that it uncovered a suspicious crypto investment firm called Dexa Trade Markets recently. The firm falsely claimed to be internationally regulated, have billions in trading volume, and have millions of investors registered.
However, in its alerts listing, the regulator noted that Dexa Trade Markets did not possess any appropriate license to operate in Australia.
The website was disabled around an hour after ASIC referred the website to the takedown provider. Parallelly, potential investors were warned by the regulator.
The regulator also cautioned users about fake news articles and deepfake videos of public figures that endorse online investment trading platform scams, especially on social media.
Overall, about 20 investment scam websites are taken down on a daily basis. The timely removal of malicious websites is an “important step” to stop criminal scammers from causing harm to users,” Deputy Chair Sarah Court said. She added,
“Scammers will continue to adapt and find new ways to lure consumers, and ASIC remains proactive in detecting and disrupting investment scams.”
