Aussies exposed as prime target of Israel’s crypto fraud syndicate

Australian residents have been identified as a prime target of a sophisticated network of cryptocurrency call-center scammers – suspected to be run by Israel-based crime bosses.

Evidence uncovered after a full-scale raid of four Serbian call centers and 11 homes by Serbian, German, Bulgarian and Cypriot authorities found Australians were among the top countries targeted. The news came from a report by The Australian on February 23.

The raids saw fifteen people arrested and $1.46 million in cryptocurrency seized, among other things.

Fraudsters from these call centers allegedly used social media ads to lure in victims and offer promising investment opportunities with lucrative returns, according to the report.

Private investigative firms told the outlet that Australians were particularly sought after by fraudsters because of their relative wealth and an alleged history of weak investigative efforts by federal and state authorities:

“Australia’s wealth combined with a long history of state and federal governments unwilling or unable to investigate online investment scams has made the country a sitting duck for the international crime syndicates behind the scams.”

Mark Solomons, senior investigator at IFW Global, a private intelligence firm, explained that because many Australians are “friendly” and “open-minded”, they are more likely to pursue online relationships – especially “if the right buttons are pushed”.

“Australia and Canada are fighting for the top spot. They are rich countries with a low likelihood of a disciplined investigation or discovery.”

Solomons said much of the stolen cryptocurrencies are used to fund the fraudster’s lavish lifestyle:

“It’s Israelis who are getting very, very rich by ripping off Australians and sucking superannuation and pension savings out of the Australian economy.”

“We’re talking about different individuals who fly around in private jets, who have very significant assets, real estate, fancy cars, cash. They travel freely around the world, they buy yachts,” Solomons added.

While Europol has reported that $3.1 million has been stolen by the multinational operation, they believe the true figure “could be in the hundreds of millions of euros.”

Related: Australia strengthens crypto watchdogs in ‘multi-stage’ plan to fight fraud

Compared to other “well-resourced” nations, Solomons called on the Australian government to increase enforcement efforts at state, federal and international levels to make the targeting of Australian investors less attractive to these fraudsters.

While some reports say Australians lost up to $2 billion from investment scams in 2021, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reported that Australians lost $323.7 million, up a whopping 75.6% to $568.6 million in 2022, according to the consumer watchdog’s Scamwatch database.

$221 million of these fraud losses came through the use of crypto payments, according to the ACCC.

Victims have also lost another $53.4 million in the first month of 2023.

To combat the problem, the Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) released a list of “top-10 ways to spot a crypto scam” in November to raise awareness of the problem.

In July, the ACCC began trialling a cyber security service that automatically removes fraudulent websites. The trial saw early success, with several crypto scam sites being knocked offline relatively quickly.