Hong Kong native and crypto promoter Wong Ching-kit has entered the radar of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) for his suspected role in several criminal cases, the latest being a cryptocurrency scam involving over HK$3 million ($384,310). According to a report from the South China Morning Post, Interpol has issued a red notice against...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
Three individuals have been arrested by the Hong Kong police suspected of defrauding a businessman out of HK$3.11 million, worth around $399,000, in crypto assets by offering him three bundles of counterfeit HK$1,000 banknotes. The officers reportedly confiscated 10,978 fake HK$1,000 banknotes during a raid on the Mong Kok office, where the fraudulent transaction took...Read More
Popular crypto privacy protocol Railgun has successfully thwarted Inferno Drainer’s latest effort to launder stolen funds, which were sent back to the original wallet’s address. According to a July 10 post by SlowMist’s anti-money laundering tracking system, MistTrack on X, an attempt to launder over 174 ETH, worth around $533,000 at the time, was intercepted...Read More
Infamous scam-as-a-service kingpin ‘Pink Drainer’ appears to have found itself on the receiving end of the very type of scheme it once peddled. According to an update shared by MisTrack, a crypto compliance platform, the notorious wallet-draining group lost about $30,000 worth of Ethereum due to an “address poisoning” scam on July 7. With this...Read More
Private key leaks were identified as the leading cause of crypto thefts in the second quarter of 2024 by cybersecurity firm SlowMist’s investigative branch, MisTrack. The report highlighted many instances wherein users stored their private keys or mnemonic phrases in cloud storage services like Google Docs, Tencent Docs, Baidu Cloud, and Shimo Docs. Private Key...Read More
Two men have been sentenced for manipulating the price of Hydrogen Technology’s cryptocurrency, HYDRO, and scheming to defraud investors. This case marks the first time a jury in a federal criminal trial has classified a cryptocurrency as a security and found that price manipulation of cryptocurrency constitutes securities fraud. $300M HYDRO Crypto Fraud Scheme Court...Read More
Football legend Ronaldinho Gaúcho has hinted at a return to the cryptocurrency scene. On June 23, he posted on X, declaring it was time for the asset class to “go mainstream” and urged his followers to join him. However, this announcement has not been met with enthusiasm. Instead, it caused criticism and skepticism from the...Read More
Juan Tacuri, 46, of Greenacres, Florida, a senior promoter behind the Forcount cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the Southern District of New York. The scheme, which reaped $8.4 million from primarily Spanish-speaking investors, has been described as one of the more shocking frauds targeting vulnerable communities. Forcount...Read More
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) indicted Bill Guan, the chief financial officer of Epoch Times, on Tuesday. The DOJ alleges that Guan was involved in an international scheme to launder around $67 million of illicit funds using cryptocurrency. The Scam From 2020 to May 2024, Bill Guan engaged in a large-scale international money laundering...Read More
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against NovaTechFx, a crypto trading company, and AWS Mining, a digital asset mining company. The lawsuit alleges their involvement in illegal pyramid schemes that defrauded over 11,000 individuals and hundreds of thousands of investors, resulting in losses exceeding a billion dollars in cryptocurrency. $1 Billion...Read More
Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan is alleged to have promoted a Solana-based meme coin named HULKAMANIA (HULK) online and then deleted the posts, leading to a decline in the token’s market value. The meme coin’s market capitalization dropped from $17 million to $2 million in a matter of minutes. Hulk Hogan Denies Promotional Posts As reported...Read More
85-year-old former attorney David Kagel has admitted guilt in a conspiracy to operate a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, defrauding victims of over $9.5 million. Once a legal authority figure in Beverly Hills, California, Kagel now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for his involvement in the Ponzi scheme. Crypto Ponzi Scheme Kagel stood...Read More
According to blockchain security firm CertiK, the cryptocurrency sector lost $42.6 million in May to exploits, flash loans, and exit scams. Despite these setbacks, approximately $96.2 million was recovered, offering some relief from the economic impact. Flash Loan Attacks Dominate Blockchain Losses Flash loan attacks caused the largest losses in the crypto sector, totaling approximately...Read More
In a high-profile case involving a massive cryptocurrency fraud, a British-Chinese woman, Jian Wen, has been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for her role in laundering Bitcoin proceeds from a $6 billion investment scam in China. Wen, aged 42, was found guilty in March of laundering Bitcoin on behalf of her...Read More
Rashawn Russell, a former investment banker, has been sentenced to 41 months in jail for wire fraud related to a cryptocurrency and access device fraud. Russell’s sentencing took place at the Eastern New York District Court in Brooklyn after his September 2023 guilty plea. Former Banker’s $1.5 Million Crypto Fraud Prosecutors detailed that Russell began...Read More
Prominent US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced the launch of a new initiative called ‘Tech Against Scams’ along with industry leaders Meta, Ripple, Gemini, Kraken, Match Group, and GASO. This coalition aims to tackle online fraud and financial schemes while simultaneously protecting and educating users, highlighting that scams are a tech-wide issue, not restricted to social...Read More
Hong Kong police have taken into custody three employees of a currency exchange shop who are suspected of engaging in fraudulent activities. This followed an incident where a customer at the shop reportedly encountered stacks of “hell money” before executing a cryptocurrency transfer worth approximately HK$1 million. Hong Kong Authorities Arrest 3 for Crypto Fraud...Read More
After wreaking havoc across the digital asset sector and stealing millions of dollars, scam-as-a-service kingpin ‘Pink Drainer’ has vowed to erase all traces of its operations and announced the winding down of its nefarious infrastructure. In an unexpected statement shared via Telegram, Pink Drainer, the wallet drainer tool known for siphoning funds from cryptocurrency wallets,...Read More
The individual associated with a recent $71 million wallet phishing attack has finally begun transferring the funds to new addresses. The scammer’s wallet remained inactive for the last six days after converting the stolen 1,155 WBTC into around 23,000 ETH. Scammer Transfers Stolen Crypto The bad actor stole Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on May 3 after...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
A New York court and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have revealed an indictment against Idin Dalpour. The 39-year-old New York resident is accused of organizing a sophisticated Ponzi scheme that allegedly defrauded investors of $43 million. $43 Million Ponzi Scheme According to the indictment, he ran the Ponzi scheme from approximately 2020 through...Read More
On April 29, Dutch law enforcement arrested a man believed to be connected to the fraudulent activities associated with the ZKasino internet gambling platform. During the operation, authorities confiscated assets valued at approximately 11.4 million euros ($12.2 million), including cryptocurrency, real estate, and luxury vehicles. Dutch Authorities Seize Millions in Assets According to a Fiscal...Read More
Crypto hackers have claimed another major victim, fooling him into sending $68 million to a wallet he thought was somebody else’s. Blockchain data indicates that a once-wealthy Ethereum user lost all of his Bitcoin holdings after hackers contaminated a recipient’s wallet history. The user now holds just $1.6 million in crypto at his address. The...Read More
Jabara Igbara, commonly known as “Jay Mazini,” who boasted of being a crypto millionaire on Instagram, has been sentenced to seven years in prison by U.S. District Judge Frederic Block. The sentence on wire fraud and money laundering charges also mandates Igbara to forfeit $10 million. Jay Mazini Labelled a “Crypto Con Man” According to...Read More
The X account of famous actor Tom Holland, which has over 7 million followers, was recently hacked. The attackers used his platform to promote a fake cryptocurrency and NFT scheme. Fake ‘Spiderverse’ Partnership with Binance The compromised account was used to announce a partnership with the global crypto exchange Binance, supposedly launching “Spiderverse” tokens. A...Read More
The crypto sleuth ZachXBT has warned about a group of scammers who are attempting to lure more victims by using millions in stolen funds in a new scheme. The investigation found that the same group who stole from projects like Magnate, Kokomo, Lendora, and Solfire is now back with a new project on Blast, Leaper...Read More
The Southern District of New York announced that Irina Dilkinska was sentenced to four years in prison by US District Judge Edgardo Ramos for her involvement in the extensive OneCoin fraud scheme. Dilkinska served as OneCoin’s former legal and compliance officer who was caught and extradited from Bulgaria to the United States in March 2023....Read More
American tech giant Google recently filed a lawsuit against two developers for uploading almost 90 fraudulent crypto investment applications on its online store, Google Play, which they used to defraud unsuspecting victims. Despite the company’s previous attempts to take down fraudulent apps from its Play Store, the alleged scammers found a way to upload more...Read More
Crypto crimes are on the rise across the world, especially with the market-wide boom. Elderly individuals, for one, are one of the most targeted groups, preyed on by fraudsters who convince them through different means to exchange their funds for crypto while promising substantial investment gains. This has prompted authorities to intensify their crackdown. In the...Read More
