Cryptocurrencies and other digital assets have enjoyed an astonishing rise into mainstream consciousness in recent years. Despite all the hype – perhaps partly because of it – investing in them can still expose us to serious risks.
Last year, Australians lost A$2.74 billion to scams. Investment scams topped the list of ways we were fleeced, costing us $1.3 billion in total.
Within this category, cryptocurrency investment scams are a significant problem. And losses from other types of scam are often processed through cryptocurrency exchanges to make them difficult to trace.
Many Australians still don’t know how to safely purchase cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), let alone how to store them securely.