The suspected Israeli kingpins of a sophisticated cryptocurrency investment scam network targeted Australians.
A sophisticated network of Bitcoin call-center scammers, thought to be operated by Israeli mafia masters, targets Australians.
Australians were among the most targeted countries when Serbian, German, Bulgarian, and Cyprus officials raided four Serbian call centers and 11 houses. The Australian reported on Feb. 23.
The raids confiscated $1.46 million in cryptocurrency and arrested fifteen people.
Dramatic police raids in Belgrade, Bulgaria and Cyprus, following investigations in Germany, have uncovered evidence Australia is in the top tier of countries being targeted: https://t.co/zWv7I3N5Kgpic.twitter.com/k98CPDxwz7
According to the investigation, call center scammers exploited social media ads to entice victims and promise lucrative investment opportunities.
Private investigation agencies told the outlet that scammers targeted Australians due to their wealth and alleged inadequate federal and state investigations:
“Australia’s wealth combined with a long history of state and federal authorities being unwilling or unable to investigate online investment fraud has made the country a sitting duck for the international crime syndicates behind the scams.”
Aussies are “friendly” and “open-minded,” according to Mark Solomons, Senior Investigator at IFW Global, a private intelligence agency.
“Australia and Canada vie for the top spot. They are rich countries with a low likelihood of a disciplined investigation or detection.”
Solomons stated the scammers are spending much of the stolen cryptocurrency on extravagant lifestyles:
“There are Israelis getting very, very rich by ripping off Australians and sucking superannuation and retirement savings out of the Australian economy.”
“We’re talking about various individuals who fly around in private jets, who have very significant assets, real estate, fancy cars, cash. They are traveling freely around the world, they’re buying yachts,” Solomons added.
Europol believes the global organization took “hundreds of millions of euros” instead of $3.1 million.
Solomons advised the Australian government to increase state, federal, and international enforcement to make Australian investors less tempting to scammers.
According to the ACCC’s Scamwatch database, Australians lost $323.7 million to investment scams in 2021, which climbed 75.6% to $568.6 million in 2022.
The ACCC reported $221 million in crypto payment scam losses.
In November, the Australian Securities Investment Authority (ASIC) published the “top-10 ways to recognize a crypto scam” to raise awareness of the issue.
The ACCC began testing a cybersecurity tool that automatically removes bogus websites in July. The trial soon shut down other bitcoin fraud sites.
