This metric is conservative, given that often the crimes go unrecorded because the victims don’t know how to report the crime or are too embarrassed about being duped.
It isn’t just the older cohort’s lack of digital savvy that has rendered them vulnerable to digital fraud. It’s the fact they have savings and are more likely to become victims of trust.
‘I would warn anybody who is asked to use one of these [crypto ATM] machines to send funds to someone to stop and think twice, as once your money is gone it is almost impossible for authorities to retrieve it.’
AUSTRAC chief Brendan Thomas
The allure of speculative investments like crypto clearly plays a part in attracting people to this type of asset. But according to an expert from Swinburne University, Dimitrios Salampasis, older people can be under the illusion they are helping a loved one, or they may be paying a false debt or investing in a fake opportunity.
It is those aged 60 or above who are targeted, and too many are taking the bait, putting cash into the crypto ATMs to convert into crypto for their digital wallets, which in turn may be used to make payments to scammers.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said that over several months the taskforce had observed customer activity that bore the hallmarks of scams and other illicit dealings.
The agency has already refused to renew one crypto ATM operator’s registration and placed a $5000 limit on cash deposits and withdrawals.
The ATMs can be merely the conduit used to funnel funds. For example, a scammer may ask the victim to transfer funds for any number of ruses, including romance scams, too-good-to-be-true investment opportunities, utility payment cons, fake tech support or job scams.
Unsurprisingly, organised crime lurks in the background of these scams, which are said to be globally based. The inability to trace crypto funds makes crypto particularly popular with those scammers, while also making recovery of lost money near impossible.
“Crypto can be a high-risk investment, but people who consider and are willing to accept those risks may find them a convenient vehicle for investment,” says AUSTRAC’s Thomas.
“However, I would warn anybody who is asked to use one of these machines to send funds to someone to stop and think twice, as once your money is gone it is almost impossible for authorities to retrieve it.”
AUSTRAC will also enforce enhanced customer due-diligence requirements, mandatory scam warnings and more robust transaction monitoring obligations on the ATM operators.
But older Australians in particular can be emotionally vulnerable and lacking technical savvy, making them ripe for this kind of exploitation.
With limited redress, it becomes a case of “depositor beware”.
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