2018 will long be remembered as the start of a significant cryptocurrency bear market, but the declining market still provided opportunities for scam artists to snag unwary investors. Given that 2017 was a breakout year for Bitcoin (BTC) and the likes, investors were clamoring to enter the fray as the price of cryptocurrencies skyrocketed toward the end of the year. With such a positive environment, businesses and developers looked to leverage blockchain technology for new projects, leading to a boom of new initial coin offerings (ICO) that has collectively raised more than $20 billion since the beginning of 2017. This …

An alleged fake news website released a crypto-related article employing the image of former New Zealand prime minister John Key, local media outlet Stuff reported Jan. 5. The ad reportedly promoted Bitcoin (BTC) and a company called “Crypto Revolt,” which is allegedly a cloned scam site. The article further explains that the advertisement imitates a Stuff business news page and “purports to interview John Key on his enthusiasm for Bitcoin.” Moreover, in place of the Stuff logo there is an “NZ Times” logo, and all the links reportedly lead to Crypto Revolt’s website. The source that encountered the ad suggested …

Nistor Vlad Călin, the founder of Romanian crypto exchange Coinflux, will be extradited to the United States, local media company Mediafax reports Jan. 4. As Cointelegraph reported in December, Călin was arrested earlier on a warrant from the U.S. for organized crime, money laundering and fraud allegedly conducted through his cryptocurrency exchange. Călin has been reportedly arrested by the U.S. authorities after a note from a secret service agent accused him of knowingly helping to launder proceedings of criminal activity committed on the territory of the United States. According to the most recent report by Mediafax, Anatol Pânzaru, Călin’s lawyer, …

A suspected scam which threatens to blow up buildings unless recipients pay a Bitcoin (BTC) ransom caught the attention of the United States’ government Dec. 13. The scam, which centers on anonymous emails demanding payment of $20,000 in Bitcoin or face a “mercenary” detonating a device in “your building,” has appeared throughout the world. Now, the U.S. National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) opted to release dedicated advice to victims, advising the only action necessary on receipt of an email was to inform the FBI. The NCCIC is “aware of a worldwide email campaign targeting businesses and organizations with …

A group of Russian members of parliament (MPs) has introduced a draft bill on blocking suspicious financial websites on Tuesday, Dec. 11. Russian crypto media outlet Forklog believes it can encompass “scam” Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). According to the document, the country’s central bank will be able to call to block websites as soon as they do not comply with the current legislation. Moreover, the state bank can apply to the court in order to block the page on the basis of pre-trial settlement. Websites that fake existing banks’ URLs, offer financial services without having a license, or promote “financial …

This article has been updated to reflect comments from Ran Neuner on his involvement in the project. The man behind the “Blockchain Terminal” (BCT) initial coin offering (ICO) has reportedly been outed as a financial criminal who concealed his former identity from employees and investors, according to crypto news outlet The Block. An investigation into the circumstances was published Dec. 11. The BCT project and its affiliated firm, CG Blockchain, are alleged to have raised as much as $31 million in an ICO to launch a crypto-focused version of the ubiquitous Bloomberg Terminal — a highly successful financial data and …

New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has added three more crypto platforms to its blacklist that warns about scams, a release by the FMA reveals Wednesday, Dec. 12. OneLife Network Limited and its associated entity OneCoin Limited were added to the list because they “bear the characteristics of a scam” and promise unrealistic returns. Moreover, the FMA has learned that the mentioned companies are holding promo events in New Zealand and offering investments, thus breaching the country’s laws by acting as unregistered financial services. Another crypto company, Bitcoin Revolution Limited, was suspected of being involved in a scam as well. …

United Kingdom-based cryptocurrency payment platform Cubits has filed for administration following a sudden outage that locked customer funds, a company press release revealed Dec. 11. The act of filing for administration means that an insolvent company has appointed an external administrator in order to act on behalf of its creditors. Cubits, the trading name of legal entity Dooga Ltd., claimed it had lost funds worth €29 million ($32.8 million) to “fraudsters” in February 2018 that it was unable to reclaim. Now, Dooga has brought in administrators “to work with those who are owed money by the Company and to collect …

The former CEO of defunct Japanese Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, Mark Karpeles, could spend ten years in jail over alleged embezzlement, Japanese daily news outlet Nikkei reported Dec. 12. Karpeles, who presided over the major hack of Mt. Gox in 2014 that resulted in the loss of 850,000 BTC ($2.87 billion), has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In a Tokyo court on Wednesday, prosecutors read out an indictment against the embattled executive, who is currently confined to Japan as a condition of his bail, claiming he stole funds worth 340 million yen ($3 million). The prosecution has asked for a ten-year …

Malta has warned citizens about an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange serving its domestic market. Regulators ordered the platform to stop operating in a notice Dec. 5. The offending platform, OriginalCrypto, had first come to the attention of Italian officials concerned it may not have the required license to offer authorized “investment services and activities.” The platform’s owner, SolutionsCM Ltd., has now come under scrutiny from both countries, with Malta’s Financial Services Authority (MFSA) sharing the warning from Italy: “The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) has ordered the following companies to cease infringement of art. 18 of the …

A recent study has found that pump and dump schemes account for about $7 million worth of trading volume per month, MIT Technology Review reported Dec. 4. The analysis was performed by researchers Jiahua Xu and Benjamin Livshits at Imperial College London. A pump and dump scheme is a form of securities fraud that has also become common in the cryptocurrency space. The organizers of the scheme choose a coin, boost its price and then “dump” sell their overvalued currency, which further leads to the price falls and losses among the investors. While cryptocurrency markets are currently in a rut, …

Like many different industries, Hollywood’s involvement with cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) has become a reality and a number of celebrities have looked to capitalize on the surge in interest and potential money to be made. As Cointelegraph has previously explored, some celebrities have gone on to achieve success in their crypto-related ventures, while others have been embroiled in the ensuing mess of failed and fraudulent projects. Caught up in Centra Tech Two major names in the entertainment industry fell victim to the fallout associated with a fraudulent ICO of crypto financial services startup Centra Tech. In 2018, the …