AFP: Thousands of Australian Crypto Wallets Compromised by Scammers

Highlights: 

• As part of the multi-national anti-scam effort, Operation Spincaster, the AFP has identified over 2,000 compromised Australian crypto wallets at risk of losing assets after falling victim to ‘approval phishing’ scams.
• Operation Spincaster was launched earlier this year by blockchain analytics firm, Chainalysis, and is a collaborative effort to combat crypto scams involving law enforcement agencies across six different countries and numerous crypto exchanges.
• AFP reports that globally more than AU$4 billion has been lost to ‘approval phishing’ scams since 2021.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has collaborated with Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company, to identify over 2,000 Australian-owned crypto wallets that have been compromised by overseas-based scammers. The compromised wallets were detected by the AFP as part of its involvement in an international anti-scam operation known as Operation Spincaster.

The AFP revealed that the wallets became vulnerable after their owners fell prey to a deceptive strategy known as ‘approval phishing’, where scammers deceitfully manipulate wallet holders into authorizing harmful transactions. Upon signing these transactions, the perpetrators gain unauthorized access to the compromised wallets, enabling them to steal digital assets at their convenience.

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• Australia Allies With Global Initiative to Combat Crypto Scams
• Chainalysis Key to Operation’s Success

Australia Allies With Global Initiative to Combat Crypto Scams

Chainalysis Key to Operation’s Success

Initiated by Chainalysis, Operation Spincaster was conceived as a response to the escalating issue of cryptocurrency scams.  Since its inception, Chainalysis has organized educational workshops and facilitated information sharing among over 100 participants representing cryptocurrency exchanges and law enforcement agencies from six diverse nations, encompassing the US, UK, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia.