The National Anti-Scam Centre has been contacting more than 10,000 Australians whose personal details surfaced during a UK police investigation into an international cryptocurrency scam. The NASC warns affected people may remain at risk of follow-up scams, including callers falsely claiming to be from the NASC or the Australian Federal Police.
What happened in the NASC cryptocurrency scam investigation?
United Kingdom police investigated organised crime targeting people who use cryptocurrency exchanges and hardware wallets, across multiple countries. Arrests were made as part of that investigation. During the investigation, personal contact details belonging to more than 10,000 Australians were identified. The National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) first published this notice in mid-August 2026 and has been contacting those Australians directly since, to let them know their details were involved.
The NASC has warned that this isn't necessarily the end of the story for affected people. Because personal information may still be circulating among criminal networks, the NASC says affected individuals may remain at risk of further scam attempts - a risk that's ongoing, which is why we're covering this notice now rather than only when it was first published.
What is the follow-up scam impersonating the NASC and AFP?
Since the notifications went out, the NASC says it has received complaints about scammers impersonating both the NASC itself and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). These impersonators contact people claiming they need to "assist with an investigation" - an approach the NASC describes as designed to obtain money or sensitive personal information.
In other words, the original incident has created a second wave of risk: criminals posing as the very authority meant to be helping. The NASC says it will never request money or sensitive information from you, or send you a text message with links, attachments, or a phone number to call.
Red flags to watch for
- A caller, texter, or emailer claiming to be from the NASC or AFP and asking you to help with an investigation
- Any request for money, bank details, passwords, or one-time codes, from someone claiming to be a government or law enforcement contact
- A text message from the NASC containing a link, an attachment, or a phone number to call back
- Pressure to act quickly or to keep the contact confidential
- Requests to move cryptocurrency, provide wallet details, or transfer funds for verification or to protect your account
What to do
- Stop before you share any money or personal information, even if the caller sounds official or urgent.
- Check the identity of whoever contacted you through an independent channel - look up the NASC's or AFP's official contact details yourself rather than using a number or link they gave you.
- Protect yourself: if you think you've shared money or personal details, contact your bank straight away, then report it to cyber.gov.au and Scamwatch.
Frequently asked
Was my information part of this investigation?
The NASC has been contacting affected Australians directly. If you haven't heard from the NASC, treat any unexpected contact claiming to be about this investigation with caution and verify it independently, using the Stop, Check, Protect steps above.
Is it really the NASC or AFP contacting me?
The NASC has said it will never request money or sensitive information from you, or send a text with links, attachments, or a number to call. If a message or call does any of these things, that's a strong sign it isn't genuine - verify independently using contact details you look up yourself, not ones given to you in the message.
What should I do if I think I've already responded to a follow-up scam?
Contact your bank immediately, then report what happened to cyber.gov.au and to Scamwatch.
Where can I report a suspicious message claiming to be from the NASC or AFP?
Report it to Scamwatch and cyber.gov.au, as recommended by the NASC.
Sourced from Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre): alert, published 17 August 2026.
Worried about a scam message reaching someone you love?
Scam SafeGuard checks links as you browse and warns you when a page looks dangerous — free.
Before you start: Scam SafeGuard uses Google's Web Risk service, which works to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information about unsafe web resources. However, Google cannot guarantee that its information is comprehensive and error-free: some risky sites may not be identified, and some safe sites may be identified in error.
Before you paste: we check any links in your message, and we look at the wording too, to help spot common scam patterns. Please don't include passwords, bank details, or other personal information — we don't need them to check your message.
A quick, one-off check. For always-on protection as you browse, add the free extension.
We watch for fake versions of the Australian brands scammers copy — Linkt, AusPost, myGov — so we can flag a lookalike even before it's reported anywhere else.
Uses Google Web Risk threat data. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Google.
Built for Australia today. Not local to you yet? Tell us where you'd like us next →
← See all scam alerts