Twelve major cryptocurrency exchange hacks occurred in 2019. Of these, 11 hacks resulted in the theft of cryptocurrency while one only involved stolen customer data. In total, $292,665,886 worth of cryptocurrency and 510,000 user logins were stolen from crypto exchanges in 2019. Cryptocurrency exchanges experienced more hacks last year than in 2018, when only nine cryptocurrency exchanges fell victim to security breaches. As time goes on, you might think that cryptocurrency exchanges would become more secure. The reality, however, is that more hacks on cryptocurrency exchange are taking place year after year. In general, crypto exchanges remain unregulated, and it’s …

Cryptocurrency investment is among the top five investor threats for 2020, according to the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA). The NASAA, the oldest international investor protection organization, has officially announced the top five products or schemes likely to defraud investors in the coming year. In order to provide the report, the authority surveyed state and provincial securities regulators across the United States, Canada and Mexico. NASAA warns against crypto and Ponzi schemes Released on Dec. 23, the report includes the top five schemes that are likely to trap investors in 2020, based on investor complaints, ongoing investigations as well …

Greece’s top administrative court has suspended a decision to extradite Alexander Vinnik, a Russian national suspected of laundering of billions of dollars through a cryptocurrency exchange. According to Reuters on Dec. 23, Vinnik’s lawyer said that the decision to extradite is suspended until the court hears an appeal, the date of which is still pending. As Cointelegraph reported, the Greek Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights had decided to extradite Vinnik to France earlier this month. At the time, the Russian Embassy expressed its regret that the Greek government “ignored” Russia’s request to extradite Vinnik to the country of …

Cyprus’ Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) recently issued a warning against almost 200 unregistered investment platforms, three of which look strikingly similar and falsely advertise ties to licensed and regulated firm BDSwiss. The CySEC posted an update to its list of unapproved website addresses on Dec. 10, which now contains 187 different names. The CySEC noted at the top of its posted list: “[T]he domains that are included in the following list are not owned or operated by Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs) which have been authorized by CySEC to provide Investment Services.” In a Dec. 23 brief, Finance Magnates reported …

The New York Southern District Court granted a continuance in the lawsuit against David Pike over his alleged link to the OneCoin Ponzi scheme. Finance news outlet FinanceFeeds reported on Dec. 21 that the continuation of the case was approved until Jan. 12, 2020 based on court documents filed on Dec. 20. “Fenero Funds” — tracking OneCoin’s laundered money trail Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Folly reportedly stated that the parties' counsels are discussing a potential pre-indictment disposition. The extension has been deemed as appropriate, given that those discussions are still taking place. Pike was the chief operating officer of …

Alexander Vinnik, the alleged former operator of now-defunct crypto exchange BTC-e, will be extradited to France, according to a new decision from Greece. Following years of disagreement on what jurisdiction should care about the alleged Bitcoin (BTC) laundering suspect, the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights has reportedly decided to finally extradite the Russian citizen to France. The news was reported by the Russian Embassy in Greece on Twitter on Dec. 20. Russian Embassy expresses regret over Greece “ignoring” requests to bring Vinnik to the country of his citizenship Noting that the decision was delivered by the Minister for …

Ether (ETH) price faced fresh selling pressure on Dec. 19 as a giant transaction associated with the PlusToken ponzi scheme worried traders. Data from Twitter-based monitoring resource Whale Alert, a single movement of 789,525 ETH ($105.1 million) between a known PlusToken wallet and an unknown recipient occurred early Thursday. Giant transaction turns traders bearish on ETH PlusToken, which hit a high of near $350 before crashing, has earned the infamous title of being one of the world’s biggest ponzi schemes. While still operational, its Chinese operators received an estimated $3 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) and ETH from unwitting investors purchasing …

A 19-year old man has been indicted for identity theft as part of an alleged $1+ million cryptocurrency heist affecting at least 75 victims in the United States. A news release published on Dec. 18 by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance alleged that Yousef Selassie, 19, conducted a complex “SIM-swapping” scheme targeting residents across 20 different states. SIM-swapping — also known as a port-out scam — involves the theft of a victim’s cell phone number in order to hijack their online financial and social media accounts by intercepting the automated messages or phone calls used for two-factor authentication security …

Bitcoin (BTC) scammers may be abandoning the cryptocurrency to focus on extorting money via prepaid debit cards, a new study suggests. Revealing its findings in a blog post on Dec. 16, cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab highlighted a growing trend in Brazil as an example of hackers’ growing taste for prepaid cards. Prepaid cards’ international appeal Specifically, a so-called “sextortion” scam — demanding a victim pay money to avoid compromising information about his or her private life going public — targets Acesso cards in the country. “The debit cards in this particular sextortion scheme — Acesso cards — are sold in …

Two Canadian men who defrauded a Bitcoin (BTC) investor out of $140,000 by impersonating exchange HitBTC may serve two years in prison. According to court records on Dec. 16, brothers Jagroop Singh Khatkar and Karanjit Singh Khatkhar pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud over a scam carried out via Twitter in July 2018. HitBTC victim: “I feel sorry for them” The case originally came to light in July this year, as per documents filed with the United States District Court in Portland, Oregon. Posing as the support service for HitBTC, the pair convinced a user, an …

Two Russian citizens are being prosecuted for allegedly targeting computers at state organizations to illicitly mine cryptocurrency. The two unnamed individuals purportedly infected the hardware with a program that mines cryptocurrency via a web browser, local media agency Tass reported on Dec. 16. One of the suspects, a resident of the city of Kurgan, is reported to have created an extensive botnet to infect computers across various regions of the country. The second suspect reportedly focused his mining operations on hardware at the state water utility JSC Rostovvodokanal. Mining can use up to 80% of targets’ processing power, official warns …

Bitcoin.com Exchange, a Bitcoin (BTC)-skeptical trading platform associated with the eponymous website, has sparked fresh controversy after supporting an altcoin widely considered to be a scam. In an article and Twitter post on Dec. 15, officials confirmed that trading of HEX had gone live two days previously. Wild volatility greets HEX traders The move makes Bitcoin.com one of the few recognized trading platforms to forge ties with HEX, which together with founder Richard Heart continues to field widespread accusations of fraud. Explaining the decision, Bitcoin.com claimed it wished to offer security to those looking to trade the coin, which launched …