Australian Federal Police have joined hands with Chainalysis over “Operation Spincaster,” per a press release dated August 5.
Scammers leverage ‘Approval Phishing’ techniques to defraud innocent investors.
The market capitalization fell more than 14% and is $1.84 Trillion as of press time.
Australian Federal Police, the national policing agency of Australia, teamed up with Chainalysis to track down crypto scammers and hackers troubling the continent.
The agency decided to work with the blockchain security & analysis firm after Australia’s total number of compromised crypto wallets reached 2000.
AFP’s press release dated August 5 states that it has joined “Operation Spincaster,” an initiative to hunt down scammers leveraging “approval phishing.” In these types of scams, fraudsters target non-custodial wallets.
“Operation Spincaster,” gathered colossal support from firms like OKX, SwyftX, Wayex, Binance, and Crypto(dot)com in identifying Australian victims; however, it is unclear whether the agency recovered any of the lost funds.
While dealing with cryptocurrencies, users should remain vigilant and cautious to avoid any monetary losses, the AFP urged.
Approval Phishing is among the most sophisticated scam techniques, in which a scammer misleads a user and tries to control the wallet, draining assets.
Popular Cryptocurrency Scams
Hackers use various scamming techniques to loot individuals, but some of the most used scamming techniques are as follows.
Social Engineering Scam Technique: Rather than directly targeting the victim in this technique, scammers manipulate the victim’s mind using psychological methods to gain credentials and other crucial information.
Phishing Scam Technique: In this scamming type, the fraudsters create fake websites similar to the original website and send phishing emails containing bogus links, which are placed to direct victims to a fake website.
Malware Scam: Malware and other malicious software can be used to steal login credentials, private keys, and other information that can help access the wallet.
Romance & Dating Scam: This scam technique is used by scammers to target female crypto enthusiasts. The bad actor manipulates the victim emotionally and romantically; once she starts to trust the scammer, the scammer leverages feelings to wipe out assets held by the victim in wallet.
Market Price Update
For the past 24 hours, the global cryptocurrency market has been bleeding on its verge. The market capitalization fell more than 14% and is $1.84 Trillion at press time.
Bitcoin price shed over 15% in the past 24 hours, dragging its price below the mark of $52,000. However, its trading volume ballooned more than 195%, reaching $81.85 Billion, which makes it the 2nd most traded crypto.
The ongoing turbulence has directed billions of dollars out of the market, and Ethereum bleeds severely, losing over 21% of its trading price intraday.