SMS scammers posing as Binance have an even trickier way to fool victims

The Australian Federal Police have alerted over 130 people to a new text message scam targeting crypto users, particularly those using Binance. The scam involves fraudsters impersonating Binance representatives, claiming there's been a crypto account breach, and instructing users to set up a new wallet. The text messages appear legitimate as they are sent from the same "sender ID" as Binance and are grouped with other messages from the exchange. The scammers provide a fake verification code and a support phone number, which, when called, instructs the user to transfer their cryptocurrency to a "trust wallet" controlled by the scammer. The AFP has warned the targeted individuals through an email and text blitz. Once the funds are transferred to the thief's wallet, they are quickly moved through a network of wallets, making seizure or recovery difficult. Red flags for this type of scam include unsolicited contact, pressure to act quickly, and prompts for a seed phrase. Binance has a tool to confirm official channels, and users are advised to verify through official sources if in doubt. The Australian government plans to launch an SMS Sender ID Register and an enforceable industry standard to crack down on similar scams, with a pilot register operating in the meantime. The AFP has reported that Australians lost around 382 million Australian dollars to investment scams in the previous 12 months, with around 47% of them being crypto-related.