Scamwatch, an initiative by the Australian government, has reported an interesting statistic. According to Scamwatch, Bitcoin related scams are on the rise. This is according to a tweet by Scamwatch which is part of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Here’s a snapshot of current and emerging scams targeting Australians, based on reports to Scamwatch last week pic.twitter.com/fyqkGXt1DN
— Scamwatch_gov_au (@Scamwatch_gov) November 1, 2017
ACCC reports that In 2017, the Scamwatch site received (so far) more than 51,000 reports of scammers trying to con people online. Online scam losses total nearly $37 million during the year, with people aged 45 to 54 most likely to lose money. This is inclusive of all types of scams.
Scamwatch is an interesting site that provides a ton of data points on scams but does not (yet) break out Bitcoin related schemes which are clearly on the rise. Maybe Scamwatch will add a new category for Initial Coin Offerings or other types of crytpo schemes?