Cryptocurrency scams Australia surge 182% as AI fuels fake platforms

A 29-year-old Queensland man watched his crypto trading dashboard soar with fake profits within days of clicking an online ad. Then the unauthorised transfers started, and he lost more than $166,000 before realising the customer support line he’d been messaging was just a chatbot. His experience, reported by The Guardian, is a small window into a much bigger problem: cryptocurrency scams in Australia have exploded in scale and sophistication, forcing the country’s securities regulator to dramatically ramp up its takedown operations.

Key takeaways

• The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) removed 3,106 cryptocurrency investment scams during FY26, a rise of almost 30% on the previous year.
• Total online scam takedowns by ASIC jumped 182% to more than 19,400 in FY26, including 7,051 fake investment platforms (up 151%) and 5,476 phishing links (up 279%).
• Scammers are using generative AI, deepfake videos and fake celebrity endorsements to make fraudulent platforms look real, according to ASIC.
• Federal police recorded A$382 million in investment scam losses in FY24, with crypto making up nearly half of that total.
• Scamwatch data shows Australians have already lost more than $45 million to investment fraud in 2026, following over $160 million in reported losses in 2025.

A record year of takedowns as crypto scams multiply

ASIC’s FY26 disruption figures mark the sharpest jump in enforcement activity since the regulator began its scam takedown service. In an Aug. 17 release, ASIC said it removed 3,106 fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms over the financial year, a near-30% increase from FY25. That figure sits inside a much larger total: ASIC’s overall online scam takedowns surged 182% to more than 19,400 across the year.

Two categories stood out. Fake investment platform removals climbed 151% from FY25 to 7,051, while phishing link takedowns rose 279% to 5,476. Compare that with ASIC’s first year running the disruption operation, when it removed just 7,300 phishing and investment scam sites between July 2023 and July 2024 — including only 615 crypto investment scams. Three years into the program, ASIC has now pulled down more than 33,400 malicious links, fake platforms and online ads in total.

How generative AI is powering fake investment platforms

Behind the numbers is a shift in how scam operations actually work. ASIC said criminals increasingly rely on generative AI, fabricated celebrity endorsements and networks of fake websites to convince victims that fraudulent platforms are legitimate. A single scam operation can now be backed by deepfake videos, fake media coverage, fabricated reviews and AI-generated social media comments — all designed to make the business look genuine the moment someone searches for it online.

The mechanics are consistent across cases. Victims click a social media ad, land on fake news reports and fabricated reviews, then get direct contact from scammers who walk them through setting up an account. ASIC noted that some victims are shown small returns or apparent profits early on to build trust, before being encouraged to transfer larger sums. Fake dashboards can keep showing rising balances and trades even though no real investment activity is happening — the money instead gets routed to criminal groups operating overseas.

Dr Marco Navone, an associate professor of finance at the University of Technology Sydney, told The Guardian that AI has erased the small inconsistencies that used to tip off cautious investors. He said criminal networks can now deploy “hyper-realistic, localised media, fake news articles, synthetic reviews” at scale, whereas suspicion once came from a cheap-looking webpage or a mobile number instead of a landline. Dr Andrew Childs, a criminology lecturer at Griffith University, described the result as an environment where “each element verifies another” — reviews back up the platform, the platform backs up the branding, and the branding backs up the fake trades.

Why this matters for investors

This is where the risk to ordinary investors sharpens. When AI-generated content becomes indistinguishable from genuine coverage, the usual advice — search the company online before investing — stops working as a safeguard. That’s precisely the gap ASIC is now warning about, and it explains why enforcement volumes have jumped even as scam techniques get harder to spot at the source.

Deepfake Albanese, Andrew Forrest and other impersonated figures

Public figures have become one of the most effective props in this scam economy. National Anti-Scam Centre data cited by ASIC showed that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and financial commentators Tom Piotrowski and Alan Kohler were among the most frequently impersonated figures during FY26. Scams built around the ten most-impersonated public figures alone accounted for more than A$7.4 million in reported losses.

The tactic isn’t new, but it keeps evolving. In February 2024, a deepfake video impersonating mining billionaire Andrew Forrest promoted a fraudulent trading platform called Quantum AI, using manipulated footage from an earlier Forrest appearance and claiming the software could generate daily profits of $700 to $2,200, according to cybersecurity firm Cybertrace. Months later, hackers hijacked a 7News YouTube account and used an AI-generated Elon Musk to push a separate crypto scam, dressing the compromised channel up to resemble Tesla while keeping the broadcaster’s verification badge intact.

The financial toll extends well beyond these headline cases. The Australian Federal Police A$382 million in losses from investment scams emerged during FY24, with cryptocurrency representing close to half of the total that total. People under 50 made up 60% of reported crypto investment scam cases. Separately, Scamwatch figures show Australians lost more than $45 million to investment scams in the first part of 2026 alone, following over $160 million in losses across 2025 — a trajectory that suggests fake investment platforms are becoming more, not less, common despite the takedowns.

ASIC’s warning and how to check before you invest

ASIC Chair Sarah Court said the growing quality of AI-generated material means a basic online search is no longer enough to confirm whether an opportunity is real. “AI is making investment scams more convincing and harder to detect. A simple online search is not enough to verify whether an opportunity is legitimate,” Court said. She added that polished content, familiar branding or convincing testimonials are no guarantee of legitimacy on their own.

ASIC has advised consumers not to send money, cryptocurrency or personal information until they’ve independently checked a provider’s identity and licence details against its official registers. Fraudsters can copy or fabricate Australian Financial Services Licence numbers to make a fake business look approved, so a licence number displayed on a website shouldn’t be taken at face value — investors are urged to cross-check the business name, licence number and contact details on ASIC’s Professional Registers, and to search the MoneySmart Investor Alert List before transferring any funds.

Regulators concede the fight is uneven. An AFP spokesperson told The Guardian that fund recovery rates remain “incredibly low,” pointing to a national scams prevention framework in development that would require banks, telecoms and digital platforms to strengthen AI-based scam detection. Experts have also called for confirmation-of-payee systems, mandatory delays on high-risk transfers, and tighter oversight of cryptocurrency ATMs — measures aimed less at chasing scammers after the fact and more at slowing the money down before it leaves a victim’s account in the first place.

FAQ

How many cryptocurrency scams did ASIC remove in FY26?

ASIC removed 3,106 cryptocurrency investment scams during FY26, part of a total of more than 19,400 online scam takedowns for the year — a 182% increase on the previous financial year.

What role does AI play in cryptocurrency scams in Australia?

Criminals use generative AI and deepfake videos to create convincing fraudulent platforms, fake celebrity endorsements, fabricated news coverage and synthetic reviews, making scam operations look legitimate at scale.

What advice does ASIC give to consumers to avoid crypto scams?

ASIC advises checking a provider’s licence independently through its official registers, comparing business names and contact details, and searching the MoneySmart Investor Alert List before sending any money or cryptocurrency.

Which public figures are commonly impersonated by crypto scammers?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and financial commentators Tom Piotrowski and Alan Kohler were among the most frequently impersonated figures in FY26, with scams tied to the ten most-impersonated names linked to more than A$7.4 million in reported losses.

Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.