The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently brought a litigative and legal response by filing legal charges against three persons and five enterprises involved in the cryptocurrency ‘pig butchering’ fraud. Pump and dump is a term used to describe a type of scams which feed on victims through a protracted process of misleading…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cracked down on two crypto investment scams, targeting platforms Nanobit and Coinw6. Involving fake relationships to deceive victims via social media, these schemes siphoned millions from unsuspecting investors. The charges mark the first SEC enforcement actions against such scams. SEC Targets Crypto Scams in Latest Enforcement Action…
Hillsborough and Campbell, California, residents have been alerted to a new email scam, according to local police departments. Scammers are sending emails containing personal details and photos of victims’ homes, threatening to release private information unless they pay $2,000 in bitcoin. The email warns recipients to pay “confidentiality charges” or risk having personal footage shared…
Flappy Bird, the popular mobile game from 2013, is back in the news again. This time it arose due to its association with a crypto scam that has been surprising gamers and investors at large. A once fun, highly addictive mobile game is now in the middle of a cryptocurrency fraud scandal. Flappy Bird: A…
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s San Diego office has seized websites linked to three fraudulent cryptocurrency recovery services. The scam preys on victims of crypto fraud by promising recovery of lost funds, often charging significant fees without delivering results. The FBI advises the public to be cautious, avoid upfront payments, and verify any claims of…
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned of a rising business email compromise (BEC) threat, responsible for $55 billion in global losses over a decade. The scam has affected all 50 U.S. states and 186 countries, with funds frequently routed through banks in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, China, Mexico, and the United Arab…
Crypto scammers are targeting the Indian Premier League (IPL) which is a cricket competition that many fans from across the world watch. In particular, they opted for an IPL team to pump a given fake Solana-based token. This attack brings out the worrying trend whereby cybersquatters exploit the band loyalty of followers of particular sports…
The Washington State financial regulator has issued a warning about potential cryptocurrency fraud involving a mining platform and wallet. A Washington investor was scammed out of over $750,000 after investing. Despite the investment supposedly growing to $1.4 million, the investor faced continuous demands for taxes and fees. Washington Investor Scammed Over $750,000 in Crypto Mining…
Indodax, Indonesia’s largest digital asset trading platform has lost millions of dollars following a cyber attack on its platform. Speaking of the hack that occurred recently, the attackers made away with around $22 million in crypto assets. This episode has sparked massive controversy in the crypto-space and has therefore resulted in increased insecurity of digital…
In the Asia Pacific, India is termed to have one of the fast-evolving cryptocurrency markets, with over 10 million digital asset holders & users. Despite massive adoption and colossal market size in the region, the nation still needs a clear and favorable set of rules for the market.   According to a report by The Indian…
A massive $1 billion crypto fraud scheme has been uncovered, with its roots tied to operations in Texas, a state known for its crypto-friendly environment. The recent legal troubles surrounding FTX, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges before its collapse, have put Texas in the spotlight. FTX was able to grow rapidly in Texas…
The recent victim of the crypto scam was Apple’s iPhone 16 launch event which people have been looking forward to. Scammers leveraged the occasion by launching fake YouTube live streams with deepfake content of celebrities to swindle people using fake cryptocurrency promotions. These video clips convinced many people that several big shots were supporting fake…
September 10, 2024 at 11:19 AM GST updated: September 10, 2024 at 10:25 AM 2 mins read News Scammers used deepfake technology to impersonate Tim Cook during Apple’s iPhone launch, promoting crypto scams on YouTube. Fake livestreams promised to double users’ crypto deposits, coinciding with Apple’s official Glowtime event. YouTube removed the fraudulent videos and…
Two managers from the now-defunct crypto fraudulent investment platform Omegapro were arrested in Istanbul, according to Turkish media reports. Dutch executive Robert Velghe was arrested Tuesday, following the July arrest of Swedish co-founder Andreas Szakacs. Omegapro, founded in 2018 and registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, allegedly defrauded investors out of $4 billion by…
AngelX, the upgraded Angel Drainer toolkit, now deploys 300 new dApps to target crypto users. Blockaid’s detection efforts have saved $400,000 in assets. Angel drainer is a notorious code used on web3 crypto phishing sites. This crypto app is back with a new upgraded version. This version has already deployed hundreds of malicious dApps. A…
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has ordered an Oregon resident and his entities to pay over $209 million in penalties for running Ponzi schemes disguised as crypto and carbon investment programs. This includes restitution, disgorgement of illegal profits, and a civil penalty. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has recovered…
A new phishing scam has appeared on the Solana blockchain, which enables attackers to burn tokens inside users’ wallets. This scam uses the Solana ecosystem to make people give permissions that give the attacker full control to burn people’s tokens. Since Solana is a relatively new and highly decentralized blockchain, it is almost impossible to…
Surging heists in the cryptocurrency market have raised severe concerns over the security and protection of investors and moguls. From the beginning of 2024 till August 2024, the market lost millions in crypto in hundreds of theft incidents. The broader crypto market lost $310 million in August 2024, making it the second most troubled month…
Lloyds Bank has published a new report highlighting scams on e-commerce websites. According to the report, thousands of customers have been lured into shopping online by fraudulent websites showing fake items. The bank estimates that $8 million went into the hands of scammers last year in the UK alone. Also Read: BRICS: Chinese Yuan Beats…
South Korean police arrested a man in his 40s for orchestrating a cryptocurrency scam that defrauded 158 investors of 16 billion won ($12 million). Operating from November 2021 to June 2022, he promised an 18% monthly return on investments in a fake cryptocurrency mining business. The scam resulted in individual losses ranging from 1.2 million…
The financial watchdog in Washington State is currently probing a complaint regarding a cryptocurrency platform that allegedly purports to be associated with the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. This inquiry began after an investor reportedly put in $200,000 following a solicitation on Facebook that transitioned to communication over Whatsapp. The regulator has flagged this as a potential…
A 37-year-old mobile shop owner was detained by Kent police for operating crypto ATMs illegally. In April 2023, the Kent police raided Habibur’s shop in Chatham, Kent, where they seized several crypto ATMs. There are currently no crypto ATMs registered with the FCA, said Matthew Long, Director of Payments and Digital Assets for the FCA. …
The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) issued a consumer alert on Tuesday, stating that it has received a complaint regarding possible fraudulent activities by a cryptocurrency trading platform named BIB. An investor reported that after transferring 20,000 USDT to BIB following advice from individuals named Austin Johnson and Cindy Turner, he was unable…
The SEC accuses Jonathan and Tanner Adam of a $61.5 million crypto lending fraud, misleading over 80 investors. According to the SEC, the trading bot promoted by the Adam brothers was found to be entirely fictitious. The funds were allegedly diverted to personal luxury projects, including a $30M condo and a $1.8M Texas home. The…
Yang Bin, a 61-year-old Dutch national, was sentenced by a Singapore court to six years in prison and fined S$16,000 Singapore dollars for orchestrating a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Yang’s company, A&A Blockchain Innovation, falsely claimed to own 300,000 cryptocurrency mining machines, promising investors a daily return of 0.5%. In reality, the company had no such…
Yang Bin, once China’s second-richest person in 2001, was jailed in Singapore for a crypto crime on August 26, 2024. A Singaporean court ordered the detained founder of A$A blockchain company to pay $12,200 in fines with six years in jail. Earlier this week, the Chinese authorities successfully extradited the MBI Group founder from Thailand. …
A relatively new trend in cyber attacks is Cthulhu Stealer, a malware that targets people who own Mac computers and laptops with the intent of creating havoc and stealing personal information. It is multifunctional, and once activated, Cthulhu Stealer actively searches for crypto wallets like MetaMask, Coinbase, and Binance. They extract essential information, including wallet…
Polygon’s community Discord channel was compromised in a recent cyberattack, raising security concerns among users. The platform’s administrators have regained control and are working to restore the channel to its original state. Polygon Discord Breached—Admins Regain Control Access Polygon‘s chief information security officer, Mudit Gupta, explained that the Discord channel was compromised, cautioning users to…
Philippine police have arrested 99 individuals during a raid on a suspected scam hub in Parañaque City, uncovering a fraudulent cryptocurrency and romance scheme involving foreign and local workers. The company was unregistered and forced employees into compromising roles. Philippine Police Bust Crypto Scam Hub, Arrest 99 in Major Raid The National Capital Region Police…
Bad actors took control of McDonald’s official Instagram account to promote a cryptocurrency scam- data. The promoted digital currency is based on the Solana blockchain, per additional information. When writing, the official Instagram account of the beverage brand McDonald has 5.1 Million followers.  Till June 2024, the broader cryptocurrency market has 100,37 listed projects, including…
August 21, 2024 at 03:17 PM GST updated: August 21, 2024 at 11:48 AM 2 mins read News Binance’s AI and manual monitoring saved $2.4B from scams, protecting 1.2M users globally from January to July 2024. 45% of averted losses were due to suspicious crypto withdrawals, highlighting Binance’s focus on securing this vulnerable process. Binance…
Falling for crypto scams, the former CEO of Kankas Heartland Tri-state Bank is sentenced to 24 years in prison. Crypto scams pose significant risks to both individuals and organizations. The Former CEO of Kankas Heartland Tri-state Bank is sentenced to 24 years in prison. You reap what you sow is now vividly seen in the…
ASIC announced its removal of 7.3K scam websites since its inception in July 2023. The scams collectively amounted to $1.3B in losses last year, majorly because of false ads. Scam tactics have shifted focus on centralized exchanges nowadays according to Chainalysis. Australia’s financial markets regulator (ASIC) has launched a major effort to combat online investment…
Byun Young-oh, the CEO of Wacon, was detained with two others over the charges of operating a virtual currency ponzi scheme. Wacon, a firm with roughly 12,000 members, was reportedly running a Ponzi scheme throughout its regional branches, per court filing. The detained official of the company operated a Ponzi scheme that led to losses…
NovaTech and its co-founders defrauded over 200k investors, looting $650 Million, as the lawsuit filed by the US SEC. The court filing states that the crypto firm promised its investors that their money was safe and they were making a profit. The broader crypto space lost over $1.9 Billion to 149 hacks, scams, and rug-pulls…
As per a Canadian media outlet, David Smillie and his company ezBtc defrauded investors, using their funds for personal use. According to the court filing, the company and its founder looted over 2,300 BTCs and over 600 ETH from the investors. Canada is one of the early adopters of cryptocurrencies, installing the first Bitcoin ATM…
Stealing funds and ransomware have been constantly growing, as per Chianalysis’s recent. The average amount that the industry lost per heist grew more than 75% YTD (year to date). Between early 2023 and mid-June 2024, cybercriminals increased the median ransom payment from approximately $200k to $1.5 million. In 2024, the broader cryptocurrency market mirrored dozens…