A College of Queensland-led research has discovered shopper vulnerability to cryptocurrency funding scams has little to do with socioeconomic standing.
Associate Professor Levon Blue in UQ’s Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Engagement and affiliated with the School of Education stated the largest vulnerabilities for shoppers had been issues over safety, unsolicited recommendation, restricted choices for studying and an absence of economic and IT literacy.
Key factors
- Cryptocurrency funding scams are on the rise, with $171 million misplaced in Australia final 12 months alone
- Each socioeconomic advantaged and deprived folks had been discovered to be weak to cryptocurrency scams
- Unbiased on-line monetary training from trusted sources is required
“Cryptocurrency funding scams value Australians a reported $171 million final 12 months alone, and that determine is just set to develop as extra folks embrace new types of digital finance services,” Dr Blue stated.
“We surveyed 745 Australian adults who’d bought cryptocurrencies or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and located each socioeconomic advantaged and deprived folks had been weak to funding scams.
“The primary place folks discovered about cryptocurrency was social media.”
The researchers discovered two distinct teams had been weak to dropping funds to scams.
“The primary had been extra prone to be feminine, Indigenous, informal or part-time staff, renters, a highschool or beneath training or with English as a second language – so with numerous options we affiliate with socioeconomic drawback,” Dr Blue stated.
“They reported being influenced by social media hype to purchase crypto and lacked adequate monetary or IT literacy.
“In distinction, the opposite weak group may very well be seen as having extra socioeconomic benefit corresponding to a college training, full-time work, being non-Indigenous or proudly owning their house or paying off a mortgage.
“This second group had been extra financially literate however might have assumed they wouldn’t grow to be a rip-off sufferer and been over-confident or over-ambitious, exposing themselves to danger.”
Dr Blue stated different areas of vulnerability for crypto scams included receiving unsolicited recommendation and never understanding the right way to retailer or safe crypto, or calculate tax or curiosity on the funding.
“Our findings recommend that on-line monetary training from trusted impartial sources is urgently wanted to assist fight scams and to maintain Australians and their crypto belongings protected,” Dr Blue stated.
“We suggest that training about different types of monetary merchandise is obtainable to in colleges, vocational settings and college.”
The research additionally concerned researchers Dr Congcong Xing from QUT and Dr Thu Pham from Griffith College.
The analysis was printed within the Australian Journal of Social Points.
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