On Nov. 15, Scott Melker, aka “The Wolf of All Streets,” said that one of his followers was hacked in the latest scam targeting Ledger users. While checking his Nano S hardware wallet, the user reported seeing a 503 HTTP API error when it attempted to synchronize, “which in and of itself terrified me.” The...Read More
A sophisticated phishing scam involving a counterfeit Skype application has resulted in the theft of a substantial amount of cryptocurrency, according to SlowMist, a prominent blockchain security firm. The investigation has also revealed a connection to a past phishing incident that involved the same domain previously posing as Binance. Phishing App Mimics Skype in Security...Read More
OneCoin’s head of legal and compliance Irina Dilkinska has pleaded guilty this week to wire fraud and money laundering charges in connection to the crypto scam that deceived and resulted in a $4 billion fraud. The DOJ said that the US District Judge Edgardo Ramos accepted Dilkinska’s guilty plea. According to the official press release,...Read More
The founders behind the once multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency, SafeMoon (SFM), have been charged with multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy by U.S. government, with accompanying charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On Wednesday, founders Braden John Karony (aka “CPT_HODL_T_MUN”) and Thomas Smith (aka “papa”) were arrested in Provo, Utah and Bethlehem, New Hampshire,...Read More
Research by blockchain security firm Hacken has found that most of the crypto projects rug-pulled in the third quarter of 2023 had no audit reports. According to the Q3 2023 Security Insights report, only 12 out of 78 examined rug pulls conducted and reported audits. Most Rugpulled Projects Are Not Audited An independent third-party audit...Read More
In a decisive move to counter the escalating use of cryptocurrencies in criminal activities, London’s Metropolitan Police established a 40-member team specializing in crypto investigations. The move comes as authorities express mounting concerns that digital currencies now play an ‘endemic role’ in organized crime. UK Crypto Fraud Cases Skyrocket Since its inception in May, the...Read More
The Calgary Police Service issued a warning to residents to beware of fraudsters who promise high returns on crypto investments, noting that Calgary victims have lost more than $22 million mostly to investment scams so far in 2023. Meanwhile, authorities believe crypto scams are still underreported despite huge losses. Calgary Police Receive More Crypto Scam...Read More
Zero-transfer phishing scams have continued to plague the crypto space, with bad actors siphoning millions of digital assets from unsuspecting victims. Blockchain analytics platform Bitrace revealed that the damage scale for zero-transfer phishing scams has increased significantly, with market participants losing more than 451 million Tether (USDT) on the Tron network. Investors Lose $451M USDT...Read More
A former CEO of an investment firm has admitted to engaging in a “cherry-picking” scheme regarding crypto futures contracts and foreign exchange contracts. The practice caused losses for investors, with the ex-CEO using proceeds from the scheme for personal use. Fraudulent Cherry Picking Practice The founder and former CEO of investment firm Systematic Alpha Management...Read More
TL;DR The Shiba Inu team resolved a SHIB Telegram account hack, with security measures like two-factor authentication (2FA) implemented. A fake BONE token airdrop was promoted via the compromised account; Vet Kusama warned the community. Shiba Inu officials consistently alert the community about potential scams and advised caution with the SHIB-related Calcium (CAL) token. Fixing...Read More
Shibarmy Scam Alerts – the X (Twitter) account dedicated to protecting the Shiba Inu community from fraud and bad actors – warned people to be extra cautious when connecting the crypto wallets to unknown decentralized applications. In the following lines, we will break down the five main approaches wrongdoers use to con victims. ‘Let’s Play...Read More
The crypto market may have failed to post a bullish breakthrough in September, but that did not stop malicious entities from stealing funds. According to the latest stats by CertIK, approximately $332 million in various digital assets has been lost to exploits, hacks, and scams in September September Sees Record-Breaking Losses Funds pilfered by exit...Read More
Pablo Rodriguez – the co-founder of the cryptocurrency pyramid scheme AirBit Club – was sentenced to 12 years in prison months after pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy charges in a US District Court in March. Rodriguez and his co-conspirators were accused of orchestrating a global scam, enticing investors with false promises of cryptocurrency riches...Read More
Rashawn Russell, a former investment banker and registered broker who worked for Deutsche Bank, has pleaded guilty to charges relating to investment fraud, after orchestrating a cryptocurrency scheme to swindle investors. The ex-Deutsche executive could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for his crimes. Russell to Pay Restitution of Over $1.5 Million...Read More
Despite false testimony from a prosecution witness linked to the “Cryptoqueen” fugitive Ruja Ignatova, the lawyer who funneled $400 million from the OneCoin cryptocurrency fraud, Mark Scott, will not receive a new trial. US District Judge Edgardo Ramos, in a ruling on Monday, rejected Scott’s request for a fresh trial. The 54-year-old had been found...Read More
Karl Sebastian Greenwood, co-founder of OneCoin and wingman for Ruja Ignatova, also known as “Cryptoqueen,” was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for his involvement in one of the biggest crypto scam projects. Ignatova, who was included in the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, is rumored to have been murdered in...Read More
Four Chinese nationals and one from Laos were arrested by Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) in connection with a fraudulent crypto investment platform that swindled over 2.7 billion Baht (worth around $76 million) from local investors. According to the report by the Bangkok Post, the individuals duped 3,280 residents after operating a fraudulent scheme...Read More
Prominent blockchain investigator ZachXBT has yet again accused four popular crypto traders of a pump-and-dump scheme. At the center of the controversy are – TraderNJ, PetaByte, XO, and Trader SZ – who allegedly profited from the gains at the expense of their followers. There are many telltale signs of a pump-and-dump scheme. The crypto industry,...Read More
Decentralized finance (DeFi) cross-chain bridge Synapse revealed that a liquidity provider dumped 9 million SYN tokens, which crashed the price of the native token by over 22% from $0.4 to $0.31 on September 5th. The price has since recovered, and SYN is currently trading at $0.36. The project confirmed that there was no security breach...Read More
A resident of Norfolk, the United Kingdom, has reportedly lost her life savings (more than $200,000) after falling prey to cryptocurrency fraudsters. This is hardly the first such scheme in the country that has resulted in substantial losses. David Lindberg – Chief Executive of retail banking at NatWest – has previously warned local investors to...Read More
Gala Games, the Web3 gaming startup behind mobile RPG Champions Arena and other ventures, was founded in 2019 and has grown steadily. Since then, a falling out has occurred between co-founders Wright Thurston and Eric Schiermeyer. Each controlled 50% of the company, and they are now fighting to remove the other from the board of...Read More
According to cybersecurity researcher ZachXBT, the feature meant to prevent scammers from impersonating legitimate organizations merely created a new black market. Previously, all verified accounts had blue checkmarks. Now, blue checkmarks indicate that the owner of the account has an X Premium subscription and meets the requirements to display the checkmarks. Government officials, multilateral organizations,...Read More
The security services platform that offers protection against Web3 bugs – Immunefi – estimated that hackers and fraudsters have drained approximately $23.4 million worth of digital assets from crypto projects in August. While the figure might sound significant, it is 92% less than the recorded losses in July when wrongdoers siphoned over $320 million. Last...Read More
Google appears to be taking money from fraudsters and facilitating crypto scams. These are the findings from DeFiLlama researcher “0xngmi,” who reported that scammers are buying ads for proper crypto websites on Google, but… When users click on them, “they get sent to an ad network to track the click, but that network redirects to...Read More
Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES) said he might propose to the court to close Meta (previously known as Facebook) to aid the investing of financial scams, including such involving cryptocurrencies. According to him, some fraudsters use the social media platform to sponsor their fraudulent schemes and thus con victims. No More Meta...Read More
Hacker groups affiliated with North Korea have become highly active in the digital asset space, relentlessly pilfering funds. Despite a decrease from the record-breaking numbers of 2022, the “hermit kingdom” has continued to concentrate on the cryptocurrency landscape this year. In fact, the stolen funds are being funneled in billions into the country’s nuclear program....Read More
Coinbase recently introduced “Base” to foster a community of developers dedicated to constructing decentralized features for its users. While Base is geared toward enhancing the exchange’s utility and encouraging greater customer engagement, this new blockchain attracted more than 500 fraudulent tokens in a relatively brief period. Scam token creators thrive on “hype, promise, and price...Read More
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said earlier this week that it had filed a complaint against four individuals and their unincorporated entity for operating a fraudulent project involving precious metals and digital assets. The alleged scam had over 14,000 customers at one point. The complaint was filed in the US District Court for the...Read More
Jinwook Shin, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitsonic, has been apprehended by South Korean law enforcement on August 7th. He is currently being investigated for allegedly embezzling investments and deposits from users of the exchange. According to the report by South Korean news agency Chosun Biz, Shin is being accused of fraudulently manipulating cryptocurrency prices and trading...Read More
Cypher Protocol, a Solana-based futures DEX, has been forced to pause its smart contract in the wake of an exploit that resulted in a loss of more than $1 million. The Why Late last night, Cypher’s devs announced that they had suffered a “security incident”, resulting in the need to pause their smart contract until...Read More
