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A Queensland man enjoyed soaring profits from a crypto trading app. Then his money started disappearing

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · · 673 words · By Ima Caldwell
AI-driven Cybercrime Corporate Responsibility of Digital Platforms Financial Regulation
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What to know about AI-driven Cybercrime

Within days of clicking on an online ad for a cryptocurrency trading app, a 29-year-old Queensland man watched his dashboard soar with profits.

Claims checked 6
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left12%
Center76%
Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Within days of clicking on an online ad for a cryptocurrency trading app, a 29-year-old Queensland man watched his dashboard soar with profits.

Why it matters

Making investment gains was as simple as downloading the slick-looking app and browser extension linked to his crypto wallet.

Common ground

Unauthorised transfers started flowing from his crypto wallet and soon he had lost more than $166,000.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Fear: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/15/australia-crypto-money-in…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Appeal to Fear 60% confidence
Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified 2
check_circle Corroborated 2
verified Verified By Reference 2
verified
Claim 1: “the Australian Securities and Investments Commission deactivated nearly 12,000 scam websites in 2025”
VERIFIED
A specific web search result explicitly states that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) coordinated the removal of close to 12,000 phishing and investment scam websites in 2025.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the realm of electronic technology, ASIC stands for application-specific integrated circuit, an integrated circuit customized for a specific task. ASIC may also refer to: Accreditation Service for…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASIC_(disambiguation)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC ) is an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use, such as a chip designed to run in a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application-specific_integrate…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — ASICS Corporation (Japanese: 株式会社アシックス, Hepburn: Kabushiki gaisha Ashikkusu), commonly known as Asics (, or ), is a Japanese multinational sportswear company headquartered in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asics
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “Victims can contact IDCARE for free national identity and cybercrime support.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources (IDCARE official site, NSW Police, and CareAbout) confirm that IDCARE is a national support service providing free assistance to victims of identity theft and cybercrime.
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web search NEUTRAL — IDCARE is Australia’s national identity & cyber incident support service, helping individuals and organisations after cybercrime and data breaches.Our National Case Management Centre and Incident Resp…
https://www.idcare.org/
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web search NEUTRAL — IDCARE provides free support to individuals and organisations impacted by identity theft, scams and cybercrime. Visit www.idcare.org or call 1800 595 160 for more information. Other resources. Counsel…
https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/crime/frauds_and_scams/fraud_c…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — IDCARE (1800 595 160) is the national identity + cyber support service. Where Scamwatch is about reporting, IDCARE is about recovery — once a scam or identity theft has happened, IDCARE provides free …
https://directory.careabout.com.au/resources/elder-safety/sc…
verified
Claim 3: “Australians have lost more than $45m to fraudulent investment schemes in 2026 so far”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence mentions losses in 2021 ($70m) and 2023 ($293m), but there is no evidence provided that confirms a loss of $45m in 2026.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_Australians
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australians
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Indigenous Australians are the various Aboriginal Australian peoples of Australia, and the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. The terms Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peop…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 4: “A 2026 report by the Australian Institute of criminology found that more than 49% of Australians worry about becoming victims of AI-related crime, with 43% identifying AI impersonation as a direct threat.”
VERIFIED
The claim is directly mirrored in the provided web search evidence, which cites a 2026 report by the Australian Institute of Criminology regarding the percentage of Australians worried about AI-related crime (49%) and AI impersonation (43%).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Antisemitism in Australia has affected Jews since Australia's Jewish community was established in the 18th century. It became more pronounced in the late 19th century, rising further in the 20th and e…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_Australia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Firearm restrictions in Australia primarily fall under the jurisdiction of Australian states and territories, while the federal government oversees the importation of firearms. During the last two dec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_of_Australia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Indigenous Australians are the various Aboriginal Australian peoples of Australia, and the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. The terms Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peop…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 5: “The Australian federal police say scammers can clone voices from a few seconds of audio, generate convincing deepfakes and send thousands of personalised messages based on a victim’s location and online history.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm that scammers use AI to clone voices from short audio clips and generate deepfakes to deceive victims. While the specific attribution to the 'Australian Federal Police' is not explicitly linked in the snippets, the technical capabilities described are corroborated across multiple sources.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Federal Police of Brazil (Portuguese: Polícia Federal do Brasil) or Department of Federal Police (Portuguese: Departamento de Polícia Federal) is a federal law enforcement agency of Brazil and one…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Police_of_Brazil
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — An AI agent, also known as agentic AI in buzzword form, is an artificial intelligence program that can pursue goals, use software or other tools, and take actions with some level of autonomy. Agentic …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_agent
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Clearview AI, Inc. is an American facial recognition company, providing software primarily to law enforcement and other government agencies. The company's algorithm matches faces to a database of more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearview_AI
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 6: “over $160m in reported losses in 2025”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of the word 'reported' and general information about Australia/AUSTRAC, but contains no financial data regarding losses in 2025.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a land area of 7,688,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) is an Australian government financial intelligence agency responsible for monitoring financial transactions to identify money laundering, o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Transaction_Reports…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Law reports covering the decisions of Australian Courts are collections of decisions by particulars courts, subjects or jurisdictions. A widely used guide to case citation in Australia is the Australi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_law_reports_in_Austral…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.