Digital criminals have fleeced victims of $3.7 million in the first three months of the year, up 23% on the same time last year, government cyber-security agency Cert NZ says in its latest report.
Cert received 2333 reports of scams in the quarter, up 63%.
Cert director Rob Pope said the sudden rise in popularity of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) had resulted in a rise in scams relating to them.
“Cryptocurrency scams are increasing in general but we are now seeing campaigns specifically targeting those looking to buy or sell NFTs,” Pope said.
READ MORE:
* Experts say crypto is regulated, sort of
* $6.6 million lost to cyber crime in the December quarter
* Bank could not stop woman sending $30,000 to fake boyfriend
“This new form of investment has created a rich avenue of opportunity for scammers, who are always looking for an edge,” Pope said.
As NFTs were unregulated, expensive and payment was difficult to reverse, they were a prime option for scammers, he said.
The Cert report followed a warning from police for investors to be wary of cryptocurrency scams, after several people fell victim to a scam.
Detective Sergeant James Robson, of the Auckland city financial crime unit, said police had been investigating a company calling itself Quwiex Ltd.
Unsplash
Cert NZ director Rob Pope said that as NFTs were unregulated, expensive and payment was difficult to reverse, they were a prime bait for scammers.
The company sucked victims in by promising large returns if…
