Cyprus police warn of large-scale SMS crypto scam impersonating Binance: report

Cyprus police have warned the public about a surge in SMS scams impersonating a crypto exchange.

Cyprus police have issued a warning about a rise in SMS fraud targeting crypto investors, with scammers impersonating the Binance crypto exchange, Cyprus Mail reports, citing a statement from the cybercrime division of the police.

The fraudsters are reportedly sending mass text messages claiming that an “unauthorized login attempt has been detected from a foreign country” on users’ Binance profiles. The messages tell recipients to call a phone number, trying to trick them into giving up their login details and account access, the report says.

Police have confirmed that these messages are fake and are warning people not to respond or interact with the sender, Cyprus Mail reports. As of press time, Binance made no public statement on the matter.

In August 2024, Binance said it had blocked over $2.4 billion in potential scams and fraud between January and July, preventing losses for more than 1.2 million users. In November 2023, the exchange agreed to pay over $4.3 billion in fines after pleading guilty to violating federal anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.

ScamSniffer data shows that phishing scams stole over $10.2 million in crypto from more than 9,000 victims in January, down 56% from December. Despite the decline, the blockchain forensic firm reports a surge in Telegram “Fake Safeguard” scams, which have jumped over 2,000% since November 2024, with more than 300 fake accounts appearing daily.