According to U.Today, thousands of cryptocurrency wallets owned by Australian holders have been compromised by bad actors. This discovery is part of Operation Spincaster, a global initiative aimed at combating crypto fraud, particularly focusing on approval phishing scams. These scams have surged over the past two years, resulting in the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto funds. The scam involves deceiving victims into granting approval for transferring specific tokens.
The large-scale operation was introduced by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis to disrupt and prevent significant losses due to crypto fraud through public-private collaboration. The compromised wallets were proactively identified as part of the operation, and one victim of an ongoing scam was directly contacted. The operation spans multiple countries, including the U.S., Spain, and Australia, involving a total of 12 public sector agencies and 17 crypto exchanges.
Chainalysis has a history of cooperating with government agencies to combat crypto crime. In April, Canadian police partnered with Chainalysis to establish an investigative training center.
