Australian Police Warned of Crypto Scammers Using ReportCyber State Service

• A new wave of crypto fraud has emerged in Australia.
• Attackers are posing as Australian police to steal citizens’ cryptocurrencies.
• Meanwhile, the AFP stressed that real law enforcement officers never ask for access to crypto wallets.

Cybercriminals in Australia are posing as police officers and using the national cybercrime reporting system ReportCyber to deceive citizens and steal their crypto assets or seed phrases from their wallets.

According to the Joint Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3), led by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), criminals are illegally obtaining personal data, such as email addresses and phone numbers, and using them to submit false claims to the ReportCyber system.

In one real-life case, the victim received a call from a man claiming to be from the AFP. He said that “someone had been arrested on the weekend and the victim had subsequently been identified in a data breach related to cryptocurrency and finance.”

The fraudster claimed that a cybercrime report had already been filed and provided an official case number. This sounded convincing, as ReportCyber allows third parties to file reports on behalf of victims. The fake police officer asked to check the status of the report through the ReportCyber portal, and it did appear, giving the illusion of authenticity.

After that, the fraudster said that a representative of the crypto platform would contact the victim to confirm the case number. In the second call, the “representative” tried to convince the victim to transfer funds from her wallet to an alleged “Cold Storage” account. Fortunately, the person suspected the fraud and interrupted the conversation.

In other cases, the criminals used spoofing techniques, substituting phone numbers to make the calls look official.

AFP Detective Superintendent Marie Andersson said the new scheme “offered a veneer of legitimacy.”

She noted that this case demonstrates how sophisticated and calculated the methods of cybercriminals have become to abuse the trust of Australians.

At the same time, the official stressed that the fraud was detected through a citizen’s self-report, indicating the growth of cyber awareness in society.

AFP assured that the ReportCyber platform remains a safe and reliable channel for reporting cybercrime, but users should be aware that fraudsters can use their personal data for further manipulation.

The JPC3 brings together Australian law enforcement, international partners and industry to tackle cybercrime and reduce harm and financial loss to the public.

It is worth reminding that this is not the first high-profile case of cyber or crypto crime in Australia:

• In June 2025, the police uncovered a $190 million money laundering scheme through cryptocurrencies and fictitious businesses
• In October, Deloitte Australia was caught using generative AI to prepare a $440,000 government report with fictitious data
• In November, 55 people were arrested and $38 million worth of crypto assets were seized as part of Operation Ironside after a court ruling allowed the use of encrypted messages from the AN0M messenger as evidence