The Texas State Securities Board (SSB) issued a total of 16 orders against suspected cryptocurrency scam investments in 2018, the regulator revealed in its 2018 Enforcement Report published on Feb. 7. Targeting actors luring Texas residents with various investment schemes, the SSB said it had successfully cited a total of 60 people and entities over the twelve-month period that reportedly sold unregistered securities. Scams included the now-infamous BitConnect, an investment racket which lost almost its entire market cap after a string of revelations about its authenticity worldwide. “Promoters of cryptocurrency-related offerings are taking advantage of the anonymity of the internet …

The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reported that common investment scams’ losses — including those crypto-related — amounted in total to over £197 million ($255 million) in 2018. The agency reported the losses in an official press release published on Feb. 6. According to data from the FCA call center, the most common reported scams involved unauthorized investments in shares and bonds, forex markets and cryptocurrencies. Each victim lost an average of £29,000 ($37,000), with such types of fraudulent investments accounting for a total of 4,996 reported cases and constituting 85 percent of the overall number of scam …

United States law enforcement has indicted two more men over alleged SIM-swapping scams involving cryptocurrency. A press release from the Northern District of California Attorney’s Office confirmed the indictment on Feb. 4. Ahmad Wagaafe Hared and Matthew Gene Ditman, who prosecutors accuse of conducting fraud, extortion and identity theft, were released on bond pending two trials set for Feb. 6 and 19. SIM-swapping, an increasingly popular scam among cryptocurrency thieves, involves perpetrators convincing cellphone operator staff to transfer cell phone numbers from victims’ devices in the hope of hacking crypto exchange accounts. Hared and Ditman, along with unnamed co-conspirators, also …

According to a recent report from crypto analytics specialists Chainalysis, Ethereum (ETH) has become the crypto platform of choice for scam artists. Its research suggests that 2018 saw far more sophisticated, higher-earning scams carried out using ETH, although the actual number of these crimes dropped significantly year on year. The amount stolen through ETH-based scams doubled from $17 million in 2017 to $36 million in 2018. This equates to 0.01 percent of ETH in circulation. Chainalysis identified over 2,000 scam Ethereum addresses, which have managed to secure funds from nearly 40,000 unique users in the network. In the space of …

Manhattan’s District Attorney (DA) announced the indictment of an individual for stealing identities and funds, including crypto, via a process known as SIM swapping. The announcement was made in an official press release from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on Feb. 1. The defendant, Dawson Bakies, has been accused of stealing the identities of over 50 victims in the United States, and also stealing funds from some of them. The 20-year-old man has been charged with identity theft, grand larceny, computer tampering and scheme to defraud among other charges in a New York State Supreme Court indictment. According the Manhattan …

A new form of malware steals cookies from cryptocurrency exchanges and other data in an attempt to hack user accounts, cybersecurity research team Palo Alto Networks reported on Jan. 31. CookieMiner, a progression of OSX.DarthMiner, is a malware targets Mac users, stealing saved Google Chrome passwords, iPhone SMS messages and iTunes backups on tethered machines and more. Along with the cookies, the goal of the malware is to gain access to cryptocurrency exchange accounts. According to Palo Alto, the hackers assume a combination of the stolen data would allow them to bypass the multi-layer authentication that many exchange users set …

A top member of the Germany-based Iota (IOTA) Foundation has said the majority of the ~$11 million alleged to have been stolen in a major Iota token heist last year has been found, Reuters reported Jan. 30. As reported, the suspected perpetrator of the heist was arrested earlier this month in Oxford, U.K., following a multilateral investigation by Europol, British and German police authorities. The investigation first launched early 2018, after multiple citizens had reported stolen funds to local German police. Over 85 victims of the theft have since been identified, with the total IOTA stolen estimated to be worth …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has warned the public against an alleged scam claiming that a cryptocurrency is officially adopted by the government, according to an official statement on Jan. 29. MAS, which is both Singapore's central bank and the country’s financial regulator, writes that the fraudulent scheme is being spread through websites that offer crypto investment using false data attributed to the government. The fraudulent websites reportedly claim that Singapore is adopting a cryptocurrency as its official coin, and ask users to provide personal and financial data to buy the crypto on an exclusive basis. Apart from reporting …

About $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency had been obtained via illicit means in 2018, according to research published by crypto analytics company CipherTrace on Jan. 29. Of that $1.7 billion, over $950 million was stolen from crypto exchanges, representing a 3.6 times increase over 2017. On the other hand, at least $725 million was lost in 2018 to scams such as ponzi schemes, exit schemes and fraudulent initial coin offerings (ICOs). CipherTrace also listed what the company believes to be the top ten cryptocurrency threats: the highest is SIM swapping, which is a kind of identity theft involving taking control over …

The Italian securities regulator, Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), has added crypto company Togacoin to its scam blacklist on Jan. 28. The regulator released its warning against Togacoin alongside similar warnings concerning binary options company Smart Choice Zone and forex exchange Fx Breeze. The three firms have been added to the CONSOB’s warning list because of failing to obtain authorization to operate in Italy. Togacoin’s website features a “Revenue Calculator” that promises a return of 239% in one year, a 654% return in three years and a 33-page white paper. The website also outlines the company’s …

Four major South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have reportedly joined their forces in order to combat money laundering, sources told local news agency The Korea Herald on Monday, Jan. 28. Quoting a report from South Korean news outlet Yonhap, the articles notes that Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit and Coinone have reportedly established a hotline where users can share information on any unusual trading or payments that could possibly be related to crimes, such as pyramid schemes. According to an anonymous representative of one of the operators, the exchanges will thereby be able to instantly check any suspicious transactions and immediately block the …

Japanese online broker Monex Group, owner of hacked cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, warned of a new scam claiming to be related to its business in a news release on Jan. 28. The scam, about which only brief details have been released, involves potential victims receiving calls from an entity dubbed “Monex Coin Management.” They are then invited to call a form of automated trading system linked to Monex, the release states, something that does not exist in practice. “The Monex Group and (subsidiaries) do not have any relation with the above company,” it confirms. Such illicit activity remains commonplace for major …