Blockchain tracking and analytics platform, Whale Alert, revealed that over the past four years, scammers have stolen over $38 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC). New heights could be reached at the end of 2020 Whale Alert’s study, which relies on data from the crypto scam tracking site, Scam Alert, suggests that the popularity of dozens of different types of scams have been on the rise. Some of these include giveaways, sextortion, fake exchanges, fake ICO’s, Bitcoin recovery, video scams, fake tumblers, and malware. In 2017, scammers stole roughly $5M in Bitcoin from unsuspecting victims. In the first quarter of 2020, …

The Cardano Foundation — the organization behind major cryptocurrency Cardano (ADA) — warned that a suspicious firm is trying to rake in investments by claiming it has contacts with the foundation. On July 9, the foundation stated that someone claiming to be from or contracted by crypto exchange BTCNEXT professes to personally know the Cardano core members as a way to reassure that investments will be safe. A BTCNEXT representative told Cointelegraph that the person in question does not have any relationship with the company. In fact, she said that they are familiar with the individual behind the claims and …

A report released by major crypto exchange Binance illustrates how scams targeting cryptocurrency investors attempt to gain credibility. In the report published on June 30, the exchange explained that its Binance Sentry risk investigation service observed reports of fraudulent investment schemes promising quick or exponential returns on cryptocurrency investments. The frauds do not just concern crypto but also forex, binary options and contracts for difference (CFDs). Binance published the report after a Bitcoin (BTC) scam targeted the residents of Winnipeg, Canada, in late June. Scams are often well-organized, big operations Scam organizations are frequently the subject of regulatory warnings but …

Fraudulent websites successfully have stolen the personal records of a number of individuals from the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Spain and more. The attack was executed as a targeted multistage Bitcoin (BTC) scam propagated by a number of fraudulent websites. According to the Singapore-based intelligence company Group-IB, the attack exposed personal data for thousands of people. Impersonating recognized media outlets and personalities Victim's phone numbers, which in most cases came with names and emails, were contained in personalized URLs used to redirect people to websites. These sites posed as local news outlets, even going …

An alleged Bitcoin (BTC) scam is now reportedly targeting residents of Winnipeg, Canada. A local grocery store owner warned that many of his customers were victims of the scammers. According to Global News, Husni Zeid placed a large sign on the Bitcoin machine he has in his store, asking people to exercise caution with regard to phone scams that ask for fake Bitcoin investments. Zeid told the local media outlets: "A lot of people are getting phone calls saying that they have to transfer the money to Bitcoin regarding CRA; we've had Manitoba Hydro as well." Multiple complaints He stressed …

Russ Albert Medlin — co-founder of alleged crypto Ponzi scheme BitClub — was arrested in South Jakarta under accusation of sexual assault on minors. Local news outlet Jakarta Globe reported on June 16 that local law enforcement arrested Medlin on Monday. Jakarta Police chief Yusri Yunus explained that law enforcement received “tip-offs from the public that underage women were often seen” at his residence. When surveilling the place where he was residing, the police saw three teenagers leave his house: “The officers intercepted and questioned three underage women, around 15 to 17 years old. They admitted the owner of the …

Cybercriminals have reportedly created a fake site version of the legitimate encrypted self-destructing notes service privnote.com. The fake version can be shared with other users to steal Bitcoin. According to a June 14 report from KrebsOnSecurity, the creators of the encrypted notes service complained about a fake clone site, privnotes.com, whose scam scheme consists of the following: “Any messages containing Bitcoin addresses will be automatically altered to include a different Bitcoin address, as long as the Internet addresses of the sender and receiver of the message are not the same.” Privnote.com said in the report that the phishing site does …

On June 5 the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, or GFSC, published four public warnings against cryptocurrency websites that claim to have an alleged license to operate in the territory. According to the authorities, www.askcurrency.org, www.findcurrency.org, www.arbitragecurrency.org, and www.etrustcoin.com have not been licensed or authorized by the GFSC — nor do they have an application pending for authorization. The Gibraltar financial watchdog also notes that such websites are displaying the GFSC logo, which has been applied “without the consent of the GFSC.” Alleged crypto sites are also not in an “initial phase” of regulation The crypto sites mentioned by the warnings …

North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, is reportedly backing a group of hackers. Their goal? Stealing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) using phishing scams. Sources indicate that the country has ramped up these efforts in an attempt to prevent a financial meltdown amid the COVID-19 crisis. A report published on May 13 by the U.K. Mirror claims that the Lazarus group, a hacking syndicate with alleged ties to the North Korean state, could be launching a cybercrime campaign of advanced persistent threat, or APT, attacks. Experts from Seoul-based firm, ESTsecurity, state that Lazarus is “increasingly engaging” in cybercrime activities in and out …

A security researcher has discovered another 22 Google Chrome web browser extensions built to steal their users' cryptocurrencies. Cybersecurity news outlet Naked Security reported on Friday that Harry Denley, a security researcher specializing in cryptocurrencies, discovered 22 more malicious Google Chrome extensions. The extensions he discovered impersonated well-known crypto firms such as Ledger, KeepKey, MetaMask and Jaxx. Their purpose is to trick users into giving away the credentials needed to access their wallets. Most of the phishing extensions have already been taken down as of press time. Per the report, most were down within 24 hours of Denley reporting them. …

Global losses from cryptocurrency fraud and theft surged massively in 2019, doubling from 2018. Despite multiple efforts to tackle fraudulent crypto schemes, countries like Belgium continued to suffer losses to crypto fraudsters. According to a May 8 report by Belgian newspaper De Tijd, Belgium’s economic inspectorate reported 2.94 million euros ($3.2 million) in losses due to cryptocurrency fraud in 2019. Figures continue to grow, but real numbers are apparently unreported The recent figures show that the number of crypto fraud cases in Belgium has been growing in recent years. In 2018, Belgian’s Federal Public Service, known as FPS Economy, reported …

The ongoing pandemic forced the postponement of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. This has triggered a series of online crypto-related scams, including an email from alleged members of the International Olympic Committee. In these emails, scammers ask unsuspecting victims for donations. As Trend Micro reported on April 30, scammers are asking for crypto donations so that Japanese organizers can recover from the economic impact produced by the postponement of the biggest Olympic sports event in the world. In the fake mail, an alleged member of the Olympic Committee states that the organization has to deal with the loss of money …