The COVID pandemic has led to an alarming upsurge in scams in Australia and New Zealand, regulators say.
A record $211 million has been stolen from Australians so far this year - up 89% per cent compared to the same period last year, according to Scamwatch.
New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority says the rise in complaints about investment scams and fraud lodged with the regulator in the first half of this year is up 79% on the same period in 2020.
“It’s very concerning to see these scams evolving and becoming more sophisticated,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.
“While the proportion of reports involving a financial loss has dropped this year, the people who do lose money are losing bigger amounts.
“Investment scams are more prevalent than ever, and scammers are capitalising on interest in cryptocurrency in particular.
“More than half of the $70 million in losses were to cryptocurrency, especially through Bitcoin,…