Crypto traders in Australia got scared a few weeks ago when they saw a phony Facebook advertisement claiming they needed “social credit scores” of approximately 100 or more to do business with crypto exchanges and trade digital currencies.
Australia Fooled By Fake Crypto Facebook Post
The Facebook post read as follows:
BREAKING: Australian citizens can only access bitcoin if they have enough social credits – report. According to a new law, Australian citizens need at least a 100 score of social credits before performing any digital transaction. This includes crypto trading or accessing the web. The decision to implement a social credit points system for its citizens has generated an uproar, especially on social media.
Social credit scoring is a system that is allegedly used in China to rank both businesses and citizens based on their trustworthiness. The higher the numbers, the stronger the individuals and enterprises are likely to be. In addition, those with particularly high scores become privy to various perks and rewards, while those who boast low scores could see themselves shut out of potential opportunities such as higher education and the use of public transportation.
The post left a lot of crypto fans and opportunists in the region of Australia flabbergasted. For one thing, this was something they had never heard of before, and given that the concept was completely alien to them, they were worried that some new scoring system was being put in place that would somehow prevent them from taking part in future crypto trades.
However, the post has been deemed false by the financial watchdog of Australia, which claims the country employs no such scoring system to see if traders can or should be allowed to engage in digital transactions. By contrast, while most crypto outlets in Australia are required to follow certain KYC (know your customer protocols), the Facebook post appears to have knowingly misrepresented them.
A spokesperson for AUSTRAC – the country’s financial security agency – issued a statement correcting the situation and talking about what is legally required by crypto trading companies to operate in Australia:
The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 requires digital currency exchange (DCE) providers to implement systems, processes, and controls within their business to mitigate criminal misuse.
One of the things that appear to have misled readers of the post was the fact that it was linked to what appeared to be very real articles and sources backing up the statements being made.
It’s Not Real!
One such article came with the following summary:
Australian citizens can only access bitcoin if they have enough social credits – more sources needed.
The good news is that most Australians can now resume their trading duties as if nothing has happened. Freedom remains in the mix and no such scoring system has been established.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/phony-crypto-facebook-posts-sends-australia-into-an-uproar/