The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have launched an investigation into a series of cryptocurrency phishing scams that have affected at least 2,000 Australian-owned crypto wallets. This move follows a detailed examination by Chainalysis, which revealed that thousands of crypto wallets belonging to Australians had fallen victim to “approval phishing” tactics.
Operation Spincaster: Details
On August 4, AFP Detective Superintendent Tim Stainton released a statement shedding light on the new strategies employed by cybercriminals to deceive Australians. “The intelligence we have gathered collaboratively throughout Operation Spincaster has shed a clear light on new tactics being used by cybercriminals in their continued efforts to defraud Australians,” Stainton stated.
He emphasized that the information gathered would be crucial in their ongoing efforts to identify victims of cybercrime and to disrupt criminal activities within Australia.
Operation Spincaster is dedicated to combating approval phishing scams through a multi-faceted approach involving education, tools, and training. Approval phishing scams trick users into signing malicious transactions, enabling scammers to transfer tokens from the victim’s wallet to their own. These scams are most commonly associated with fraudulent investment schemes that promise high returns or romance scams, often referred to as pig-butchering scams.
Since May 2021, victims of approval phishing scams have suffered losses amounting to approximately $4 billion. Chainalysis is actively collaborating with the AFP’s Policing Cybercrime Coordination Center (PCCC) to address these ongoing investigations. This partnership was further solidified when PCCC staff hosted a workshop with Chainalysis to delve deeper into the intricacies of Operation Spincaster and to develop better protective measures for Australians.
In addition to these efforts, several cryptocurrency exchanges, including BTC Markets, Binance, Crypto.com, Ebonex, Independent Reserve, OKX, SwyftX, and Wayex, are working alongside the AFP to prevent Australians from falling prey to these scams. Australian banks have also taken proactive steps in the last 12 to 14 months by imposing restrictions or complete blocks on transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges.
In a related incident, an Australian couple is currently facing a lawsuit for spending over 10 million Australian dollars mistakenly sent to them by the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com.
In 2023, Australians lost up to $840 million in investment scams, according to the country’s competition and consumer regulator.
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