Australian crypto investors are currently facing significant financial losses due to the rise in cryptocurrency scams, particularly those impersonating Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. In a statement given on 20 March 2025, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed the commencement of a global investigation into these crypto scams.
Scammers posing as Binance representatives initiate contact through SMS with the aggrieved party. They then proceed to create a sense of urgency in their message, alleging unauthorized access to the victim’s accounts.
The SMS sent by the scammers to the victims often include fake verification codes along with a support phone number. When the aggrieved party calls the phone number included in the SMS, the system directs them to transfer their assets to a “trust wallet” for security reasons. The scammers control this trust wallet, resulting in the victims losing their funds.
What is striking in this case, however, is the manipulation of SMS technology by the scammers. They spoof their messages to appear in the legitimate message thread from Binance, making it difficult for recipients to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent communications.
The @AusFedPolice (AFP) and @binance are working together to combat a surge in impersonation scams targeting Australian crypto users as part of Operation Firestorm.
How These Scams Work:⚠️ Scammers pose as Binance representatives via SMS and messaging apps⚠️ They claim an…
— Binance Australia (@Binance_AUS) March 20, 2025
AFP Commander, Cybercrime Operations, Graeme Marshall said, “The AFP has worked closely with our partners at the NASC to ensure any victims in Australia targeted by these scammers were identified swiftly and given advice to help protect their cryptocurrency accounts.”
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Australian Authorities Launch Operation Firestorm in Collaboration With the NASC and Other International Law Agencies
In response to the growing scams, the Australian authorities have launched Operation Firestorm, a collaborative effort by the AFP, the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC), and other international law enforcement agencies.
Operation Firestorm aims to find and dismantle the organizations that are carrying out these scams, and so far, authorities have identified and alerted 130 Australian victims.
Highlighting the challenges of recovering the stolen funds, Commander Marshall emphasizes that once the funds are transferred to the trust wallet, the funds are quickly moved around through a network of wallets and money laundering accounts that complicate fund recovery efforts.
Marshall further iterates, “If you have already transferred your cryptocurrency to a so-called trust wallet, report it to your bank or digital currency exchange immediately, then to police via ReportCyber quoting the reference number AFP-068.”
In light of the recent scams, the Australian government has initiated the implementation of regulatory measures for investor protection. One of the regulatory measures is to mandate telecommunication companies to block or flag texts from unregistered senders.
The government seeks to empower the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) by creating a mandatory SMS sender ID register so that the media authority can either block these messages or mark them with a warning.
These measures are undertaken to protect Australian investors from scammers impersonating reputable sources, including crypto exchanges.
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Binance Commits to User Education and Security
Binance, on its part, has expressed its commitment to security and user education.
Jimmy Su, Binance’s Chief Security Officer said, “Scammers often impersonate trusted platforms – like Binance and others – by exploiting certain telecom loopholes to manipulate sender names and sender phone numbers to create urgency.”
Furthermore, to safeguard investors against such scams, Su suggested the adoption of some preventive measures. He suggested verifying communications by only using the company website or app.
Su iterated to not share sensitive information and that legitimate companies would never ask for an investor’s seed phrase or private keys.
He asked investors to be wary of urgent requests, especially those concerning fund transfers, and only use official tools provided by exchanges like Binance Verify to confirm the legitimacy of the communication.
Binance has plans of its own on how to deal with this menace. The company is aiming to launch a new security feature that will help users identify phishing scams.
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Key Takeaways
Scammers impersonate Binance via SMS, tricking victims into transferring crypto.
Australian authorities launched Operation Firestorm to combat fraud.
Binance is aiming to launch a new security feature that will help users identify phishing scams.
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