A sophisticated phishing scam has targeted thousands of Australian crypto investors, leaving them out of pocket.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is investigating losses from a series of crypto phishing scams affecting at least 2,000 Australian-owned crypto wallets. This investigation follows a Chainanalysis report, Operation Spincaster, which revealed that thousands of Australian crypto wallets were compromised through “approval phishing” tactics.
According to AFP Detective Superintendent Tim Stainton, the intelligence gathered during Operation Spincaster has highlighted new methods used by cybercriminals to defraud Australians.
This intelligence will play a crucial role in ongoing efforts to identify victims and disrupt offenders. Operation Spincaster aims to combat these scams through education, tools, and training.
Approval phishing scams trick users into signing malicious transactions that allow scammers to transfer tokens to their own wallets. These scams are commonly found in fraudulent investment schemes and romance scams, known as pig-butchering scams. Since May 2021, victims have lost approximately $4 billion to these scams.
Chainalysis is collaborating with the AFP’s Policing Cybercrime Coordination Center (PCCC) to resolve ongoing investigations. This partnership follows a workshop where Chainalysis provided intelligence on compromised wallets, training on tracing stolen funds, guidance on detecting scam attempts in real time, and strategies for supporting victims.
While cryptocurrency exchanges like BTC Markets, Binance, Crypto.com, and others are taking steps to safeguard Australians from scams, some Australian banks have made it harder to invest in crypto. In the past year, the “Big 4” banks (Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac, ANZ), Bendigo Bank, and HSBC have limited or even blocked transfers to crypto exchanges.
This comes as Australians lost a staggering $840 million to investment scams in 2023, according to the country’s consumer watchdog.
