Four “young” hackers have been arrested in a cryptojacking case involving over 6,000 computers in what is allegedly South Korea’s “first” known case of its kind, Korean English-language news outlet Aju Daily reports Nov. 8. Cryptojacking is the practice of using a computer’s processing power to mine for cryptocurrencies without the owner’s consent or knowledge. Aju Daily cites a statement from the National Police Agency's cyber bureau that clarified that the four accused had not been detained, but would face a trial for allegedly infecting 6,038 PCs with malicious mining malware, which had been concealed in job application documents sent …

Three Thai citizens who are currently being prosecuted for allegedly swindling $24 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) have pleaded “not guilty” in the Criminal Court of Bangkok, major Thai newspaper Bangkok Post reports Wednesday, Nov. 7. During the hearings, Thai prosecutors accused the three defendants and six accomplices of defrauding 21-year-old Finnish investor Aamai Otava Saarimaa back in 2017. According to the investigation, he was persuaded to buy shares in Expay Software Co, invest in a gambling-focused crypto token Dragon Coin (DRG), and buy 500 million shares in DNA (2002) Co, which he consequently did by transferring crypto to the …

Several verified Twitter accounts have been hacked to impersonate Elon Musk today, Nov. 5, with one reportedly collecting almost $170,000. After compromising verified accounts, scammers changed the profile name and picture in order to pose as the Tesla CEO. Scammers would then post in comment threads started by the real Elon Musk, so as to give the impression of legitimacy. Some of the scam tweets said that Elon Musk was conducting “the biggest” crypto-giveaway in the world for those who use “Bitcoic” (read Bitcoin), and provided a link to “participate” in the giveaway. Screenshot of compromised Pathe UK account. Source: …

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand has added three new crypto-related websites to its list of online scams, an announcement by the FMA reveals Thursday, Nov. 1. On Nov. 1, the FMA listed three companies — Crypto Gain, Russ Horn, and Zend Trade — on its “scam” list, where citizens are warned about the potential risk of dealing with certain websites. In regards to Crypto Gain, the FMA states that the company is posing as a New Zealand company with the same name without permission to do so, noting: “The website www.cryptogainlimited.com is not associated with, nor a …

Investigators have reportedly halted the public listing process of cryptocurrency mining machine manufacturer Ebang International on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx), local financial news outlet Sina Finance reported Oct. 14. According to reports, the move was prompted by the firm’s alleged involvement in illicit financial practices. Ebang International operates in the field of Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chip design and production, telecommunications services, and the development, manufacture and sale of blockchain processors, or miners. In 2017, the company’s market share reportedly was 11 percent in terms of sales revenue, totalling 9.79 billion yuan ($1.4 billion). The annual profit of …

Cybersecurity publications were sounding the alarm over cryptocurrency malware again Monday, Oct. 29 after a Malwarebytes forum user reported a price monitoring app for macOS was a trojan. Confirmed in a blog post by the cybersecurity software developer, community member 1vladimir reported suspicious behavior by an app called CoinTicker over the weekend. The app purports to let users track cryptocurrency prices from within the Mac toolbar, which update automatically. “Although this functionality seems to be legitimate, the app is actually up to no good in the background, unbeknownst to the user,” Malwarebytes’ blog post explains, adding: “Without any signs of …

Malta’s Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has warned of a “dubious” online crypto trading platform it says has falsely claimed to be licensed in the country, English-language newspaper Malta Today reports Oct. 25. The platform in question, “Primetradingbot,” reportedly appears to be running a “high yield” Bitcoin (BTC)-related investment scheme, which the MSFA cautions has “a dubious nature with a high risk of loss of money”. The MSFA has warned that Primetradingbot is not, as it claims, licensed by the watchdog, stating that “although this entity purports to operate from an address in Malta, the MFSA does not believe this to …

Thai citizen Prinya Jaravijit, who allegedly defrauded a Finnish investor of $24 Million worth of Bitcoin (BTC), has recently been detained in Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, the Bangkok Post reports Friday, Oct. 12. According to newspaper, Jaravijit arrived in Bangkok on a flight from South Korea en route from the U.S., where he allegedly spent two months after his brother’s detention in connection with the same crime. Shortly after the arrest Jaravijit, who was wanted on charges of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering, was delivered to local police where he was questioned. His lawyers are reportedly preparing to apply …

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has halted a planned Initial Coin Offering (ICO) that falsely claimed have SEC approval, the agency reported in an official press release Thursday, Oct. 11. The SEC suspended the ICO project with an emergency court order, and also halted pre-ICO sales by the company Blockvest LLC, and its founder Reginald Buddy Ringgold III. The complaint by the SEC alleges that Blockvest falsely claimed that their ICO and affiliates had acquired approval from major financial regulators, including the SEC itself. Blockvest and Ringgold — who also goes by the name Rasool Abdul Rahim El …

Cryptocurrency exchange YoBit is going to perform a pump scheme on random coins, according to an Oct. 10 tweet. A pump and dump scheme is a form of fraud that attempts to artificially boost the price of an asset through misleading or false recommendations. YoBit Pump in 22 hrs: https://t.co/RIbW7OhKzM We will buy one random coin for 1 btc every 1-2 mins 10 times (total buy amount - 10 btc). — Yobit.Net (@YobitExchange) October 10, 2018 In addition to announcing the pump scheme in a tweet, the exchange posted a countdown clock for a ‘YoBit pump’ on its website. YoBit …

The Foreign Ministry of Thailand has revoked the passport of an alleged crypto scammer, which has reportedly rendered him unable to return to his home country for prosecution, the Bangkok Post reports Wednesday, Oct. 10. According to the report, Prinya Jaravijit was in the U.S. after a cryptocurrency investment scheme surfaced in which he and several accomplices allegedly defrauded a Finnish investor of $24 million. The Crime Suppression Division’s (CSD) deputy commander Pol Col Chakrit Sawasdee claimed on Wednesday that the Foreign Ministry invalidated the passport of the prime suspect Jaravijit. Sawasdee reportedly ordered the suspect to turn himself in …

Ethereum-based adult entertainment platform SpankChain has suffered a smart contract security breach that led to loss of around $38,000, the firm reported on its Medium page Oct. 9. The hack, which purportedly took place Oct. 6, was detected by SpankChain a day after, and was announced today in a post entitled “We Got Spanked: What We Know So Far.” Anonymous attackers managed to steal 165.38 Ethereum (ETH) or around $38,000 from the platform’s payment channel smart contract. Additionally, the security breach caused the immobilization of $4,000 worth of the SpankChain’s internal token called BOOTY. While most of lost or immobilized …