Scams & safety
Australians lose more money to investment scams than to any other kind, and crypto is the payment method of choice for scammers because transfers are fast and irreversible. The defence isn't technical — it's recognising the patterns before money moves. No legitimate platform, adviser or stranger will ever pressure you to act quickly or promise a particular return.
The patterns behind almost every crypto scam — pressure, promised returns, and "helpful" strangers — and the checks that take 60 seconds.
Self-custody basics: when holding your own keys reduces risk, and when it just moves the risk onto you.
Why scammers direct victims to the machines, AUSTRAC's A$5,000 cash limit and crackdown, and the one rule that defeats every version.
Every platform on this site is AUSTRAC-registered. What that filters out — and what it cannot.
Check whether a platform holds a financial services licence before trusting it with your money.
The six patterns doing the damage right now
Scamwatch consistently ranks investment scams as Australia's most costly scam category, with crypto the payment channel of choice because transfers are instant and irreversible. The details change; the patterns don't. If what's happening to you resembles any card below, it almost certainly is that scam.
The "investment mentor" (pig butchering)
A stranger — dating app, WhatsApp, "wrong number" text — builds a friendship over weeks, then introduces a trading platform showing spectacular returns. Deposits work; the balance grows; withdrawals need "taxes" or "fees" first.
The tell: The platform isn't on any app store, isn't AUSTRAC-registered, and no one can withdraw. The relationship existed to get you onto it.
Fake celebrity & news-site ads
Ads and doctored news articles claim a well-known Australian got rich on a trading platform. The link leads to a slick site and a "personal account manager" who calls within minutes of you entering a phone number.
The tell: No licensed platform cold-calls you or advertises guaranteed returns. The celebrity has never heard of the product.
Seed-phrase phishing
A fake wallet app, a lookalike exchange site, or "support staff" in Discord/Telegram asks you to "validate", "sync" or "restore" your wallet by entering your recovery phrase.
The tell: The seed phrase is the wallet. No legitimate service — not the wallet maker, not an exchange, not anyone — will ever ask for it.
Airdrop & approval drainers
A surprise token appears in your wallet, or a site offers a free claim. Interacting leads to a signature request that quietly grants the scammer approval to move your real assets.
The tell: Unexpected tokens are bait — don't touch them. Read every signature request; a wallet like Rabby that simulates transactions shows the theft before you sign it.
Exchange support impersonators
After you post in a public forum about a problem, "support" messages you first — offering to fix it via screen share, a "verification deposit", or a link to a login page.
The tell: Real exchange support never DMs first, never asks you to move funds, and never joins you on AnyDesk. Go to the site directly, yourself.
The recovery scam (round two)
After a loss, a "fund recovery agency", "blockchain lawyer" or "hacker" offers to retrieve your crypto — for an upfront fee. Scam victims are resold on lists precisely for this.
The tell: Nobody can reverse a confirmed crypto transaction. Anyone charging upfront to "recover" funds is running the second half of the same scam.
The 60-second check before money moves
- Were you contacted first — by anyone, on any channel? Assume scam until proven otherwise.
- Is a return promised or "guaranteed"? Real investments cannot promise returns. Ever.
- Is there urgency — a closing window, a bonus expiring, pressure to act today?
- Is the platform AUSTRAC-registered? Check our exchange list; if it isn't on it, ask why.
- Has anyone asked for your seed phrase, remote screen access, or a "release fee"? Stop immediately.
- Would you be embarrassed to describe this to a friend before sending money? Describe it to one anyway.
One honest rule covers most of it: legitimate money is never in a hurry.
Already sent money? The first 24 hours
- 1 Call your bank — immediately
If money moved by card or transfer, your bank may be able to stop or recall it. Minutes matter far more than having the full story straight.
- 2 Lock down the exchange side
If crypto left an Australian exchange account, contact the exchange's support (via its website, never a DM), freeze the account, and change passwords + 2FA on your email first, then the exchange.
- 3 Preserve the evidence
Screenshot chats, addresses, transaction IDs and the platform's pages before they disappear. Recovery is rare — but prosecutions and bank disputes run on evidence.
- 4 Report it — then tell someone
Scamwatch and ReportCyber (links below) feed the systems that get accounts and payment rails blocked. Then tell a person you trust: scams isolate victims, and the follow-up "recovery" scam targets people who stay silent.
Been targeted? Report it
Reporting helps even when funds can't be recovered — it's how platforms and payment rails get blocked for the next person. If you've sent money, contact your bank and the exchange immediately, then report to:
- → Scamwatch (ACCC) — report a scam
- → ReportCyber (Australian Signals Directorate)
- → ASIC MoneySmart — investment warnings
General information only. If you're in immediate financial distress from a scam, contact your bank first — speed matters more than paperwork.