According to a recent report, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has launched an “in-depth” investigation into several phishing scams that have compromised about 2,000 crypto wallets belonging to residents in Australia. The revelation follows an in-thorough investigation by Chainalysis dubbed “Operation Spincaster,” which brought these security breaches to light.
The report noted:
The joint activity, known as Operation Spincaster, targeted criminals using a tactic called ‘approval phishing’, which has been used to steal more than $4 billion in cryptocurrency from unsuspecting victims globally since May 2021.
Notably, approval phishing, the method used in these scams, involves deceiving individuals into authorizing transactions that ultimately grant the scammer access to transfer the victims’ tokens to another account they choose.
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This type of scam represents a sophisticated manipulation of trust and technology, exploiting the vulnerability of digital wallet transactions.
Collaborations Involved In The Tackling OF Crypto Fraud
According to the report, the AFP has been working closely with Chainalysis in response to these phishing scam threats. Their collaboration extends to the Policing Cybercrime Coordination Center (PCCC), enhancing their capabilities to track down the criminals involved.
Additionally, their collaboration also resulted in the creation of a workshop which was particularly fruitful in the crackdown of these illegal initiatives.
The workshop facilitated by Chainalysis for the PCCC provided law enforcement with the tools and knowledge needed to trace stolen funds, detect scams as they happen, and offer real-time assistance to the victims.
Moreover, the cooperation extends beyond law enforcement as the AFP mentioned several major cryptocurrency exchanges, noting:
We thank the digital currency exchanges, BTC Markets, Binance, Crypto.com, Ebonex, Independent Reserve, OKX, SwyftX, and Wayex, for their commitment to identifying Australian victims, to provide support and prevent ongoing victimisation and monetary loss in Australia.
These platforms, according to the report are crucial allies in the fight against cybercrime, employing new strategies to ensure that users can trade safely without the threat of falling victim to these sophisticated phishing scams.
Warnings From The AFP
Besides the announcement of the AFP and Chainalysis collaboration to tackle compromised crypto wallets, in the report, the AFP revealed ways investors or crypto users could avoid or perhaps protect themselves from getting scammed in the crypto space.
They mentioned warnings such as verifying approval transactions before signing them and avoiding any signing of a transaction from someone they do not fully trust.
In addition, users should be very much “skeptical” when it comes to “urgent requests for money or personal information” whether or not they come from a credible source. Also, users should use search engines or social media to verify the social presence of individuals or companies.
Furthermore, with romance type of scams increasing to target victims emotionally, the AFP urged crypto users to verify the identity of the person behind the screen by requesting “video calls or even meetings if possible.”
They concluded: “Trust your instincts. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
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