It has been over a decade since the cryptocurrency industry has been around. It has continued growing bigger and more profitable for investors. This is the reason why they are being adopted worldwide.
However, as the positive factors of the cryptocurrency industry keep growing, the negative factors are also growing bigger and more sophisticated over time.
Cryptocurrency scams have been on the rise in the past couple of years. Due to the technology offered by cryptocurrencies and blockchains, hackers are even targeting government institutions.
They are not afraid to target the authorities because they know that the entire crypto-blockchain technology is mainly decentralized, so their identities are completely anonymous.
With the passage of time, scammers and hackers have gained so much confidence that they are coming up with newer kinds of swindles for the crypto communities.
Bitcoin Scam in Australia
Currently, Australia is in range of the cryptocurrency scammers who are using a newer kind of trick on the people of Australia. Using the new trick, the scammers are luring people and stealing away their BTC.
Due to the recent happenings, the Australian authorities are also on high alert, issuing warnings and intimations for the locals for their safety.
Bitcoin Paper Wallets Scam
As per the local law enforcement authorities in Australia, there is a newer kind of scam in the area that involves Bitcoin paper wallets. These wallets are fake and are being used to victimize innocent crypto users.
The paper wallet scam appears to be a lucrative cryptocurrency wallet address, which is just the thing to lure the locals. Once the users try accessing it, it ends up draining their own cryptocurrency holdings.
Thus, the users are deprived of their own cryptocurrency holdings and have no one to blame for.
NSW Police Force Issued the Warning
The New South Wales (NSW) Police Force is currently looking into the particular scam. They issued a statement and a warning through the Facebook page on November 22.
The authorities have alerted users not to fall for paper wallets. These wallets have been randomly placed in public places. They appear to be legit Bitcoin paper wallets, with a QR code.
The victimized people revealed that after scanning the QR code, they were asked to click a link to access the wallet with over $10,000 stored in it.
As they did that, they were asked to pay a fee using their own wallet. They were directed to access their wallet to pay the fee, which required them to enter their credentials.
After providing the details, they could their funds leaving their own wallets.
In light of the recent events, the authorities have asked users to be very cautious and do not fall for such scams.
For the users that have been scammed and deprived of their funds, there is no way for them to get compensation. They will be left without any funds and may even leave the crypto industry.