South Korean authorities have arrested 215 individuals in connection with a massive cryptocurrency investment scam worth an estimated 325.6 billion won – around $232 million. The arrests, led by the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police, involve employees of a fraudulent investment consulting firm and its founder, who happens...Read More
Authorities have confirmed that the body of Kevin Mirshahi, a cryptocurrency influencer abducted in June, has been found in Montreal. A passerby discovered Mirshahi’s remains in Île-de-la-Visitation Park, located in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville district, on October 30. Mirshahi’s death has added to Montreal’s rising homicide count, bringing the city to its 32nd case this year. Kevin...Read More
Ukrainian crypto holder Viacheslav Leibov was robbed by a group of armed men in Phuket, Thailand, on November 8th. The incident led to a loss of 250,000 USDT and marks the latest in a series of security incidents involving crypto investors across major cities. Armed Robbery According to the report by Bangkok Post, the 23-year-old,...Read More
In a first for Japanese law enforcement, authorities have tracked and analyzed Monero (XMR) transactions to arrest 18 alleged scammers. Yuta Kobayashi, the 26-year-old suspected leader of the group, has been charged with laundering funds through Monero and engaging in computer fraud by exploiting stolen credit card details. Money Laundering Activities Through Monero According to...Read More
Binance revealed collaborating with the Delhi Police to take down a “sophisticated scam” orchestrated by a fraudulent entity known as “M/s Goldcoat Solar.” According to the press release shared with CryptoPotato, the crackdown resulted in several arrests and the confiscation of more than 100,000 USDT in crypto assets. Solar Scam Busted As part of the...Read More
Russia has sentenced Marat Tambiyev, a former mid-ranking investigator, to 16 years in jail after he was caught accepting a bribe of 1,032 bitcoins, which is currently worth around $65 million, from hackers he was investigating. The bribe originated from members of the Infraud Organization hacking group, which Tambiyev was tasked with probing while working...Read More
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) expressed deep concern about crypto’s role in facilitating illicit activities across Southeast Asia. It notes that the existing underground banking infrastructure, including underregulated casinos, junkets, and illegal online gambling platforms, has increasingly adopted crypto as a tool for crime. UNODC Raises Alarm Over Crypto In its...Read More
In the debate over illicit finance, cryptocurrencies often bear the brunt of criticism despite cash being the preferred tool for criminals. A new report published by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Supervisory Special Agent Robert Whitaker and the Crypto ISAC states that regulated crypto platforms offer valuable support to law enforcement, utilizing blockchain’s transparency to combat...Read More
In a landmark case in Scotland, £110,000 (worth approximately $144,384) has been seized from 29-year-old John Ross Rennie. This marks the first time that proceeds of crime legislation have been used to confiscate cryptocurrency as physical cash. This case was settled at the High Court in Edinburgh. Violent Robbery Rennie of Cambuslang was convicted of...Read More
On Aug. 15, crypto compliance and research firm Chainalysis released the first part of its 2024 crypto crime report. The firm revealed that aggregate illicit activity on-chain has dropped by 19.6% year-to-date, down from $20.9 billion to $16.7 billion. It added that this demonstrates “that legitimate activity is growing more quickly than illicit activity.” Part...Read More
The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has determined that the cryptocurrency trading platform ezBtc and its founder, David Smillie, defrauded investors of approximately $9.5 million, equivalent to 13 million Canadian dollars, in crypto assets. The BCSC’s investigation uncovered that ezBtc and Smillie engaged in misleading and deceptive practices, misappropriating funds intended for customer accounts. Crypto...Read More
Russian-speaking threat actors who come from former Soviet Union are the primary drivers of various types of crypto-related cybercrime, including ransomware, illegal crypto exchanges, and darknet markets, according to the latest report by TRM Labs. In fact, ransomware groups that speak Russian were also found to be responsible for at least 69% of all ransomware...Read More
Blockchain analytics company Elliptic said that its researchers have made progress in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to detect money laundering in Bitcoin. A recent paper detailing this research was co-authored with researchers from the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab. Elliptic revealed a successful identification of illicit proceeds deposited at a cryptocurrency exchange, new patterns of money...Read More
With increasing cryptocurrency-related crimes in Hong Kong, Bitrace has ramped up its efforts to tackle the problem. The prominent data analysis company has reportedly conducted training sessions on on-chain fund tracking for members of the Hong Kong Police Force. Bitrace Bolsters Efforts to Combat Crypto Crimes The latest initiative is part of the company’s Corporate...Read More
South Korea has witnessed a surge in crypto trading, particularly following a market recovery. Correspondingly, authorities in the country received almost 49% more alerts of potentially suspicious transactions from crypto service providers in 2023 compared to the previous year. A paper from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) revealed that South Korea logged 16,076 instances of...Read More
In a shocking turn of events, a middle-aged Swedish couple fell victim to a violent home invasion orchestrated by a gang of masked men determined to steal their Bitcoin holdings. This incident, which unfolded earlier this week in the town of Rönninge, south of Stockholm, has highlighted the alarming trend of cryptocurrency-related robberies in Sweden....Read More
Former project manager at now defunct crypto investing firm Bitsonar, Yaroslav Shtadchenko, has filed a complaint with the U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accusing his former employer at Bitsonar of fraud. The accused, Bitsonar’s founder, Alexander Tovstenko, who was also a former clerk at the Ukrainian government hired Shtadchenko in 2018 “to provide consulting...Read More
It is a well-known fact that US politicians don’t like bitcoin very much. Particularly the Federal Reserve governor still sees plenty of problems, primarily due it facilitating illicit activities. In a recent meeting, the bitcoin debate was reopened once again. The Fed Still Hates Bitcoin As regulators prepare to take a closer look at cryptocurrencies,...Read More
A woman based in the United States island-state of Hawaii has lost nearly half of her entire life savings, in a crypto mining-related Ponzi scheme.The post appeared first on NewsBTCRead More
Cybercrime is growing at an exponential rate, and showing zero signs of slowing down or stopping in the near future. As technology advances, so do the tactics used by these criminals, especially surrounding crypto.The post appeared first on NewsBTCRead More
Criminals are still drawn to Bitcoin. The world’s leading cryptocurrency lacks anonymity and privacy. Even so, it is often used as a tool to hide monetary transactions. The first six months of 2019 have been rather telling in this regard. Over $4bn worth of Bitcoin has been stolen from investors during this period alone. Criminals...Read More
The Takeaway: Experts say Hamas is now using bitcoin for cross-border fundraising at an unprecedented rate. Still, even the largest estimates of terror financing in the region are apparently dwarfed by civilian bitcoin usage in the Gaza Strip, local experts tell CoinDesk. General awareness in Palestine of bitcoin and ethereum has increased since 2018. Freelance...Read More
The assigned liquidator for the collapsed New Zealand-based cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia says it’s making progress in determining customer holdings, but that the management of user funds by the exchange has caused delays. Professional services firm Grant Thornton New Zealand was assigned to oversee the liquidation process in May, after the exchange had failed to recover from...Read More
A man has been sentenced in San Diego, California, for conspiring to sell drugs over dark web markets for cryptocurrencies. Thirty-nine-year-old Sky Justin Gornik had pleaded guilty to using a number of marketplaces such as Alpha Bay, Trade Route, Abraxas, Evolution, Outlaw Market, and Dream Market to deal in fentanyl, carfentanil, ketamine, oxycodone, amphetamine and other...Read More
Many officials claim only criminals use Bitcoin. All of those people are in the wrong. Many people use cryptocurrencies for a wide variety of purposes. It is certainly true criminals favor Bitcoin due to its pseudonymity. One Norwich-based individual was sentenced for hacking and accepting cryptocurrency as a payment. Teens Love Bitcoin Riches One has...Read More
