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 cybersecurity 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.
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“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.
Auckland city financial crime unit, Detective Sergeant James Robson said police had been investigating a company calling itself Quwiex Limited.
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Cert NZ director Rob Pope says as NFTs are 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 they used…
