In FY26, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission shut down over 19,400 online scams, a 182% surge, including 3,106 cryptocurrency investment platforms.
Key Takeaways
ASIC took down over 19,400 online scams and 3,106 fake crypto platforms in FY26.Deepfakes of figures like Anthony Albanese fueled over $5.3M in reported Australian losses.ASIC urges investors to verify entities on its official Professional Registers before sending funds.Australia’s corporate regulator has issued a stark warning to investors as sophisticated, AI-generated deceptive networks—often built around fake cryptocurrency platforms and deepfake endorsements—continue to target Australian savings.
Potential investors targeted by social media ads for high-yield investment platforms are led through carefully staged online ecosystems, which include deepfake videos featuring political figures promoting automated crypto trading bots.
Once victims hand over their money or transfer crypto assets to these platforms, the funds are routed directly to overseas criminal syndicates and lost.
High-Profile Figures Hijacked for Financial FraudASIC Chair Sarah Court warned that the rapid evolution of generative AI has made online investment scams significantly harder for everyday consumers to detect.
“AI is making investment scams more convincing and harder to detect. A simple online search is not enough to verify whether an opportunity is legitimate,” the court said. “The presence of polished content, familiar branding or convincing testimonials does not mean an investment is legitimate.”
ASIC noted that fraudsters frequently hijack or fabricate Australian Financial Services Licence details to give their fake crypto platforms an aura of legitimacy.
Prospective investors must also check official resources such as the Moneysmart Investor Alert List to see if an entity or domain has already been flagged as a suspected scam.
While ASIC has taken down more than 33,400 malicious links, fake platforms, and social media ads over the last three years, officials stress that prevention remains the frontline defense against investment scams operating from overseas jurisdictions.
