While you may not think that you would ever fall victim to a scam, scammers often take advantage of this sense of confidence.

Between January 2019 and July 2019, Australians lost a record $14.76 million to crypto-related scams (ACCC, 2019).

Why are scammers using crypto?

Due to the irreversible nature of crypto transactions, scammers can take your money and leave you with few options to recover your funds.

The best way to ensure this doesn't happen to you is through research, education, and preventative measures.

These days, scams operate as multi-layered, professional businesses with a dedicated team to determine the best way to steal your funds.

With convincing scripts, staff training programs and performance indicators, these companies are more equipped than ever to be as deceiving as possible.

• How can you spot a scam?

  

  
  Ask yourself these questions to help identify common scams. 
  
  Click Next to start.

• How can you spot a scam?

  

  Have you been contacted about an investment opportunity that promises fast and guaranteed returns?

  Investment opportunities of this type almost always involve a catch. Usually, the catch is that there is no investment opportunity at all.

• How can you spot a scam?

  

  Are you attempting to send your funds to an 'Auto Trading Platform' that will trade your crypto for you?

  These platforms promise that they have an advanced trading bot set up or a specialised team of traders that can trade your money for you and make great returns. In most cases, there is no specialised team or trading bot, as most of these businesses are set up as Ponzi schemes - see examples Bitconnect or USI Tech.

• How can you spot a scam?

  

  Has a 'famous' person contacted you through social media such as Facebook, Instagram or Telegram?

  These scammers often present themselves as an investing 'guru' that can line you up with the 'next big thing in crypto'. Once again, this results in your money being taken with little to no return.

• How can you spot a scam?

  

  Has an individual or entity contacted you with instructions on retrieving previously scammed funds?

  A common trick scammers use is to target individuals who have already lost money to a scam. Due to the desperate nature of these individuals, they will often send further funds in hopes of recovering their initial losses.