Hundreds of crypto fraud websites removed

Australia's financial regulator has shut down more than 600 cryptoscams in one year. There is concern about the rise of AI-generated deepfakes.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), an independent financial authority of the Australian government, has removed more than 600 crypto fraud websites in the past 12 months.

In total, there are according to the authority about 7,300 so-called phishing-websites blocked, stealing user data and stealing money.

Total damages for the entire period were about $1.3 billion, which represents a decrease of $200 million compared to the previous year.

Investment fraud is "the most common form of fraud" in Australia, according to ASIC. More than 20 websites are removed daily.

Because of social media, these forms of fraud have increased in recent years.

In this framework warned the authority recently explicitly for the proliferation of AI-generated deepfakes.