The Australian market regulator has cracked down on 14,000 cases of online fraud since July 2023, more than 3,000 of which claimed to involve cryptocurrency. The agency plans to intensify its efforts against online fraud.

These online scams include investment fraud, phishing websites, and online advertisements. Sarah Court, Deputy Chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), stated in a statement that ASIC's enforcement work on investment fraud will expand to include social media advertising.

This deletion feature is an example of how we monitor the latest trends and take action to protect Australians from those attempting to steal information.

In the first half of 2025, global losses from cryptocurrency hacking attacks, scams, and vulnerabilities reached $2.47 billion, an increase of nearly 3% compared to the $2.4 billion stolen in 2024.

This year, cryptocurrency fraud cases account for a larger proportion.

ASIC launched its anti-fraud initiative in July 2023 and began using its new deletion powers, which include submitting suspicious websites to third-party companies specializing in cybercrime detection for investigation and deletion.

ASIC's fraud update released last August showed that about 8% of the fraud cases they discovered were related to cryptocurrency, with approximately 140 fraud cases discovered each week on average in 2024.

This year, the average weekly deletion amount has slightly decreased to 130.

ASIC stated that some of the most common scams include fraudsters pretending to use AI trading bots to generate profits, fake websites impersonating legitimate sites, and false news articles utilizing AI-generated fake celebrity endorsements.

Last year, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) identified deepfakes and other AI-generated images as an increasingly concerning issue, as they make it more difficult for ordinary people to detect fraud.

Investment fraud leads to losses, but the trend is declining.

According to the Australian National Anti-Scam Centre, investment fraud remains a major type of scam affecting Australians, with reported losses exceeding $73 million so far this year.

However, since 2023, losses appear to have decreased, with victims losing $192 million in 2024, down from $291 million in 2023.

The court stated that scammers continuously improve their methods, often employing the latest technology to deceive victims.

She added, "While the latest data shows that the coordinated efforts of the National Anti-Scam Centre have made progress in combating scams, there is still more work to be done, and we urge Australians to remain vigilant."

Meanwhile, ASIC reiterated that a healthy level of skepticism should be maintained regarding all recommendations, celebrity endorsements, AI-generated return promises, and investments made through WhatsApp, Telegram, and other direct communication programs.

Cryptocurrency ATMs also face risks.

Australian regulators are also targeting cryptocurrency ATMs this year, suspecting that these ATMs may be linked to online fraud in certain cases.

Earlier this year, Australia's financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) launched a nationwide operation against the use of cryptocurrency ATMs for criminal activities, including victims and suspects of pig slaughtering.

Australia has the third-largest number of cryptocurrency ATMs in the world, totaling 1,968, and this number continues to grow according to the latest statistics.

In June this year, AUSTRAC introduced new operating rules and transaction limits for cryptocurrency ATM operators to combat fraud. Last December, the agency also listed cryptocurrency as a priority for 2025.

According to AFP, Australia's online cybercrime reporting system ReportCyber received 150 independent reports of scams involving cryptocurrency ATMs between January 2024 and January 2025, with losses exceeding $2 million (A$3.1 million).