Double-spending is an issue that has existed ever since Bitcoin’s (BTC) inception, and according to a recent report from ZenGo, it still persists across cryptocurrency wallets such as BRD, Ledger Live and Edge. Although these companies have updated their product offerings since ZenGo pointed out this discrepancy, it is speculated that millions of crypto users could have been exposed to this particular exploit, dubbed BigSpender. Ledger, one of the impacted crypto wallet firms, even claimed that this vulnerability is only a user experience flaw. What is double-spending? Double-spending is a flaw that arises across digital cash platforms wherein a single …

Willie Breedt, a South African national accused of stealing up to $16.3 million from around 2,000 investors via his VaultAge Solutions scheme, has reportedly been forced into bankruptcy by a local court. According to a recent report from News24, the sequestration order was initiated on July 3 by Simon Dix — one of VaultAge’s largest investors, who entrusted Breedt with 7.5 million South African rand, or $440,000. VaultAge Solutions was founded in 2018, promising weekly returns on customer deposits through crypto mining and trading and accepting deposits starting from $50. The scheme’s investors have allegedly received only 1% of expected …

In addition to the obvious advantages in the form of anonymity, accessibility, ease of use and low cost of transactions, cryptocurrencies have some serious drawbacks that impede their global adoption. The main one is the connection between crypto and crime. Everyone who has studied this topic even superficially knows that Bitcoin (BTC) still remains a popular payment method among scammers and criminals on the darknet. Cryptocurrencies are very convenient tools for money laundering, evading taxes and cheating investors. Today, I will talk about the most famous cryptocurrency pyramids, from which millions of investors suffered and whose activities amounted to billions …

Some of the most impactful frauds in modern history, from the Enron scandal to the Bernie Madoff investment scheme, were carried out by malignant actors inside or at the helm of corporate entities who manipulated the tangled, esoteric financial records. This is precisely the kind of behavior blockchain technology is designed to obliterate. The rapid demise of the German financial technology company Wirecard, which established itself in the blockchain community as a major crypto debit card issuer, seemingly belongs to the same category of events. In the long term, it might contribute to the growing public demand for increased transparency …

Shortly after lifting the country’s Telegram ban, Russian authorities began investigating potentially fraudulent offerings involving the company’s unlaunched token, Gram. The token was at one time meant to serve a new blockchain ecosystem known as the Telegram Open Network, or TON. Reports indicate that Russian prosecutors are set to investigate a British firm that allegedly sold fraudulent tokens related to Telegram’s terminated blockchain project. The news was reported on July 3 by the local news agency, Baza.io. According to the report, the action was brought to a local investigative committee by “several Russian entrepreneurs” that claimed to have purchased $11.7 …

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 …

The UK High Court has appointed the Official Receiver as liquidator of the cryptocurrency trading platform, GPay Ltd. According to an announcement published by the UK Insolvency Service on June 30, the crypto exchange showed signs of being "nothing but a scam”. Fake statements abound The firm, also known previously as XtraderFX and Cryptopoint, advertised its services online and through social media channels. The Insolvency Service claims that the ads falsely alleged the service was endorsed by entrepreneurs who appeared in an unnamed UK primetime TV show and a high-profile money saving website. After complaints received by the local authorities, …

South Korean authorities are investigating a complaint filed by 950 investors who claim to be victims of a crypto-related ponzi scheme. According to TV Chosun, police are looking into reports that over 160 individuals are believed to have operated the alleged scam, known as Futurenet. The Futurenet team is also suspected of stealing almost 20 billion won ($16.66 million) from investors and transferring the money via cryptocurrency. Victims bought using crypto Victims state that they were tricked by buying an “advertising pack” initially using crypto. No ads were ever acquired as a result of the purchase. A police officer from …

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 …

Shareholders in German fintech Wirecard are taking legal action against Big Four auditor EY in the fallout from the scandal now engulfing the company. Earlier this month, the auditor had refused to sign off the fintech’s 2019 financial report after discovering a shortfall of €1.9 billion (roughly $2.1 billion) on its books. Following EY’s discovery, German authorities arrested Wirecard’s (now-former) CEO, Markus Braun, who had been at the helm of the fintech for almost two decades. Braun has been accused of conspiring to inflate the company’s assets and misrepresent what amounted to over 32% of Wirecard’s assets — $2.1 billion …

Wirecard’s subsidiary responsible for issuing debit cards, Wirecard Card Solutions Ltd., has been suspended by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA. According to a statement issued on June 26 by the regulator, Wirecard’s subsidiary is required to not dispose of any of its funds, stop conducting any of its regulated activity, and it must communicate on its website and to its customers that it is no longer permitted to conduct regulated activity. As of press time, however, such statements are not present on any of Wirecard’s websites, including the subsidiary’s dedicated domain. The FCA explained that following the …

On June 25, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission charged the issuer of AML Bitcoin — not to be confused with Bitcoin itself — with conducting a fraudulent offering. These charges follow up on a criminal filing in San Francisco from June 22. AML Bitcoin’s story Per the complaints, Rowland Marcus Andrade and his NAC Foundation raised upwards of $5.6 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) for AML Bitcoin beginning in August 2017 and continuing through 2018, amid the huge ICO boom of that time. The criminal charges filed against Andrade in San Francisco on June 22 refer …