Australians are warned to avoid crypto paper wallets they find on the street
Scammers allegedly left fake crypto paper wallets in public places as part of a scam to trick Australians out of their crypto.
New
Australians have been warned to stay away from suspicious fake Bitcoin paper wallets, which work by luring victims into accessing a lucrative crypto wallet, but will eventually drain them of their own crypto holdings .
According to a November 22 post on the NSW Police Force Facebook page, the scam begins with a cryptocurrency paper wallet with a QR code, which is designed to look like a legitimate Bitcoin paper wallet.
These are spread by scammers in public places such as streets or parks.
An example of the fraudulent crypto paper wallets. Source: NSW Police ForceA person who locates the paper wallet and scans the QR code is instructed to click on a link to access a crypto wallet with up to 16,000 Australian dollars ( $10,000).
The person is then asked to pay a withdrawal fee and provide their own wallet credentials which will allegedly allow them to transfer the balance to their own crypto wallet.
"Once the withdrawal fee is paid and the person's crypto wallet details are provided, the person's cryptocurrency is stolen from their crypto wallets," NSW Police explained.
Authorities have advised the public to remain vigilant, and that anyone who finds a paper crypto wallet similar to this one should not attempt to scan the QR code, access the account, or provide their private information.
Instead, they should turn in the wallet to their local police station.
This is not the first time a paper wallet scam has appeared in Australia. Over three months ago, a Reddit user created a
Scammers allegedly left fake crypto paper wallets in public places as part of a scam to trick Australians out of their crypto.
New
Australians have been warned to stay away from suspicious fake Bitcoin paper wallets, which work by luring victims into accessing a lucrative crypto wallet, but will eventually drain them of their own crypto holdings .
According to a November 22 post on the NSW Police Force Facebook page, the scam begins with a cryptocurrency paper wallet with a QR code, which is designed to look like a legitimate Bitcoin paper wallet.
These are spread by scammers in public places such as streets or parks.
An example of the fraudulent crypto paper wallets. Source: NSW Police ForceA person who locates the paper wallet and scans the QR code is instructed to click on a link to access a crypto wallet with up to 16,000 Australian dollars ( $10,000).
The person is then asked to pay a withdrawal fee and provide their own wallet credentials which will allegedly allow them to transfer the balance to their own crypto wallet.
"Once the withdrawal fee is paid and the person's crypto wallet details are provided, the person's cryptocurrency is stolen from their crypto wallets," NSW Police explained.
Authorities have advised the public to remain vigilant, and that anyone who finds a paper crypto wallet similar to this one should not attempt to scan the QR code, access the account, or provide their private information.
Instead, they should turn in the wallet to their local police station.
This is not the first time a paper wallet scam has appeared in Australia. Over three months ago, a Reddit user created a
What's Your Reaction?
