Cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia have been increasingly communicating with their users as part of preventative measures against scams. According to local crypto firms, such communication is the key to preventing scams as it is able to “break trust” between victims and scammers.
Executives at major Australian crypto firms such as Cointree, CoinSpot and Swyftx met at a panel of the fintech conference Intersekt 2023 in Melbourne on Aug. 31 to discuss the issue of scams and fraud in crypto.
At the panel, the executives mentioned a variety of measures taken by the platforms in order to protect their users from fraud, including automated and manual Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks, investigations, education and communication.
Cointree, CoinSpot, Swyftx and Chainalysis executives at Intersekt 2023. Source: Cointelegraph
According to CoinSpot AML officer Jedda Stocks-Ramsay, the firm has been particularly focused on “just talking” to its customers as it finds it really effective.
“We find that we’ll speak to our customers at least once over the course of their life or the course of their life on their account with us,” Stocks-Ramsay stated. He noted that talking about scams is the key factor because there’s a social engineering aspect to that.
CoinSpot has been particularly focused on helping customers understand the issue of trust that scammers attempt to build with their victims, Stocks-Ramsay said. The exec stressed that scammers often spend hours on the phone with victims, and a simple email from the exchange could help users avoid this altogether. He added:
“One really effective way we find of breaking that trust, or at least planting the seed for the victim to question it, is talking to them and giving them that human element because that’s what the scam is doing.”
Alongside communication, education is another important component of protecting crypto users, Swyftx executive Jason Titman noted. He stressed that often, the reason why individual consumers are susceptible to being tricked into disclosing their personal data and passwords to scammers is due to a lack of education.
“It’s always been important because, as this is a new asset class, we’ve been educating our customers, particularly something that’s very relevant and important,” he noted.
The panel speakers also highlighted the importance of educating users beyond just the cryptocurrency industry.
Cryptocurrency is “just one industry within the scams ecosystem,” Stocks-Ramsay said, adding that many other industries are involved in crypto scams, including social media, banks, telecoms and others.
Cointree CEO Jess Renden agreed with the CoinSpot executive, stressing that cryptocurrency scams are “not crypto’s fault.” Crypto firms in Australia have been actively communicating with regulators and other businesses, be they telcos or social media platforms, she said, adding:
“Our industry is constantly, sort of, badgered saying that it’s our fault and it’s up to us. And I think all of you today have seen the measures we go through to try and protect customers.”
According to data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, local people lost roughly $150 million from investments where cryptocurrency was used as the payment method in 2022. The amount is up more than 160% from 2021.
Additional reporting by Cointelegraph author Tom Mitchelhill.
Nigel Farage has successfully exploited the Commons recess to “grab the mic” and “dominate” the agenda, Harriet Harman has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer said that the Reform UK leader has been able to “get his voice heard” while government was not in “full swing”.
Mr Farage used a speech this week to set himself, rather than Kemi Badenoch’s Tories, up as the main opposition to Sir Keir Starmer at the next election.
Baroness Harman said: “It’s slightly different between opposition and government because in government, the ministers have to be there the whole time.
“They’ve got to be putting legislation through and they kind of hold the mic.
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“They can dominate the news media with the announcements they’re making and with the bills they’re introducing, and it’s quite hard for the opposition to get a hearing whilst the government is in full swing.
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“What we used to do when we were in opposition before 1997 is that as soon as there was a bank holiday and the House was not sitting, as soon as the half-term or the summer recess, we would be on an absolute war footing and dominate the airwaves because that was our opportunity.
“And I think that’s a bit of what Farage has done this week,” Harman added.
“Basically, Farage can dominate the media agenda.”
She went on: “He’s kind of stepped forward, and he’s using this moment of the House not sitting in order to actually get his voice heard.
“It’s sensible for the opposition to take the opportunity of when the House is not sitting to kind of grab the mic and that is what Nigel Farage has done.”
But Baroness Harman said it “doesn’t seem to be what Kemi Badenoch’s doing”.
She explained that the embattled leader “doesn’t seem to be grabbing the mic like Nigel Farage has” during recess, and added that “there’s greater opportunity for the opposition”.