Australian Federal Police (AFP) have issued a stark warning regarding a sophisticated cryptocurrency scam that has already ensnared at least 130 individuals. The scam leverages spoofed text messages, impersonating the popular cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, to trick victims into transferring their digital assets to fraudulent “trust wallets.”
The AFP revealed that the scam involves sending messages containing fake verification codes, designed to appear as if they originated from legitimate Binance communication threads. These messages also include a fraudulent support phone number. Upon calling, victims are instructed to “protect” their accounts by transferring their cryptocurrency to a wallet controlled by the scammers, resulting in the immediate theft of their assets.
The scam exploits the ability of online text messaging services to send messages from Sender IDs, such as company names, rather than phone numbers. This allows scammers to manipulate message threads, making their fraudulent communications appear within legitimate Binance message histories.
According to a 2019 report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, this technique groups sham communications with legitimate ones, further deceiving victims.
The AFP has taken proactive measures by conducting an email and text blitz to alert the identified 130 potential victims. AFP Commander Cybercrime Operations, Graeme Marshall, emphasized the difficulty of recovering stolen funds, as they are rapidly moved through a network of wallets once transferred to the scammers’ control.
This scam mirrors a similar wave of fraudulent activity reported on X (formerly Twitter) on March 14, where scammers spoofed emails from Coinbase and Gemini, attempting to trick users into setting up new wallets with pre-generated recovery phrases.
The AFP has highlighted several red flags to help individuals identify such scams, including:
- Unsolicited contact from someone claiming to be from Binance about an account breach.
- Pressure to act quickly.
- Prompts for a seed phrase.
Binance Chief Security Officer, Jimmy Su, acknowledged the issue, stating that scammers frequently impersonate trusted platforms by exploiting telecom loopholes to manipulate sender names and phone numbers. He advised users to utilize Binance’s tool for confirming official channels and to “stop and verify through official sources” if they have any doubts.
The AFP’s warning underscores the growing sophistication of cryptocurrency scams and the importance of vigilance in safeguarding digital assets.
