As crypto fraud has rapidly increased in recent years, crypto crackdowns have been intensified in various regions. A notable example of this is the move by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which recently stepped up its crackdown on fraudulent activities online by disabling several scam-related websites.

In its latest press release, the regulator noted the following:

Scammers use digital platforms, including social media, to lure unsuspecting consumers and lead them to scam websites. Closing these websites disrupts the transmission of the scam and breaks the link between scammers and their potential targets.

600+ Crypto Sites Closed

According to the latest press release from ASIChas ‘methodically’ dismantled many websites that committed investment fraud over the past yearwith a notable focus on cryptocurrency.

The press release specifically revealed that ASIC’s efforts have resulted in the closure of more than 7,300 websites since July 2023 that were involved in various practices designed to mislead Australian investors.

Among these websites, websites specifically targeting cryptocurrency investors are less than those targeting traditional investors. The report noted:

Since July 2023, ASIC has coordinated the removal of over 5,530 fake investment platform scams, 1,065 phishing hyperlinks and 615 cryptocurrency investment scams.

The report highlighted that Australians approximately $1.3 billion lost to investment fraud in 2023 aloneSarah Court, Deputy Chair of ASIC, commented on the seriousness of the problem in a recent statement.

She pointed out that scammers are using “sophisticated techniques” to target Australians “at random” with the aim of “stealing information and money”. Sarah Court added:

The fraud landscape is changing rapidly. Innovative technological developments can improve the way we live and work, but they also provide new opportunities for fraudsters to exploit. On average, 20 investment fraud websites are taken offline every day. Taking down malicious websites quickly is an important step in preventing criminal scammers from causing further harm to Australians.

Among the closures was the website Dexa Trade Markets, a so-called investment platform that falsely claimed to be internationally regulated and boasted of exaggerated trading volumes and investor numbers. ASIC’s swift action resulted in the removal of Dexa Trade Markets within an hour of its identification.

Australia: Ongoing repression

It’s worth noting that Australian regulators’ crackdown on websites is just one of a number of measures being taken to clamp down on crypto fraud in the region. Earlier this month, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) targeted 2,000 compromised crypto wallets belonging to Australian residents.

As Bitcoinist reported, the move was in collaboration with blockchain insights firm Chainalysis. Meanwhile, ASIC filed a lawsuit against ASX, an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), last week.

Main image created with DALL-E, chart from TradingView