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.

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

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

Frantic, he attempted to contact customer support, only to find the platform’s customer service team was a basic chatbot.

It was only then he realised he had fallen victim to an investment scam constructed by artificial intelligence.

‘Scam ecosystems’

Data from Scamwatch shows Australians have lost more than $45m to fraudulent…