Giving the opening remarks during a U.S. House meeting on illegal digital activities, Representative and subcommittee chair Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) noted a major jump for online crime in 2020. "We are seeing a 75% spike in daily cybercrimes, reported by the FBI since the start of the pandemic,” Cleavor said in his opening statements of the June 16 virtual hearing before the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy. Speaker dials into specific attacks and sectors After COVID-19 prevention measures caused business closures and shelter-in-place orders in mid-March, many companies looked to remote work. As droves of people …

The United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) launched a new system on June 16 to detect and remove online fraud ads. According to the Telegraph, the system will allow people to report fraudulent ads, especially those that appear in paid-for spaces. One of the main motivations behind the alert system is ongoing concerns about the rise in ad scams that are mainly related to crypto-related fraud, said both authorities. Increasing concerns on the surge of crypto-related scams The ASA quoted figures released by the UK financial watchdog Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), where the financial …

Indian police have registered a case against five individuals suspected of involvement in a cryptocurrency scam that has defrauded investors since 2017. Despite operating for several years, the scammers are only believed to have made away with a modest bounty of roughly $34,200. The group is believed to have solely operated in the Maharashtra state’s district of Palghar. Indian police target multi-year scam On June 13, media outlet New Indian Express reported that five people had been booked for allegedly defrauding investors under the guise of cryptocurrency investment. The group promised exorbitant returns to those who invested in crypto assets …

One of the faces of the anonymous Monero coin, Ricardo Spagni, also known as Fluffy Pony, tweeted out information indicating Craig Wright's affiliation with a Mt. Gox-related Bitcoin wallet. "Just so we're clear, Craig Wright has just openly admitted (via his lawyers) to be the guy that stole 80k BTC from Mtgox," Spagni said in a June 12 tweet, including court documents in the post. Fluffy Pony makes his point Spagni added: "The screenshots below show the court documents indicating the '1Feex' address is where the stolen Mt Gox funds were sent. What do you have to say, Calvin Ayre?" …

Crypto-powered web browser, Brave, has halted its referral program for users in China, Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Ukraine after detecting “a high number of fraudulent referrers” in those regions, according to a June 11 announcement. Brave’s referral program allows content makers to earn Basic Attention Token (BAT) — utility tokens that run on the Ethereum blockchain — for getting new users to download the browser via unique referral codes. While the program was initially capped at $1 million USD worth of BAT tokens, it has now done “several times that amount”, Brave's statement alleges, stressing that the scheme has been …

Fifteen people have pleaded guilty to involvement in an international syndicate that used fraudulent online auctions to dupe victims out of Bitcoin (BTC) according to the United States Department of Justice (DoJ). From at least December 2013, the syndicate used listings for non-existent goods on auction and sales websites to defraud victims, with the group laundering the funds through a Romanian crypto exchange Coinflux in recent years. According to the DoJ’s announcement, four of the guilty pleas were made by Romanian nationals in the past 24 days before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew A. Stinnett, with two taking place in the …

The Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, claims that the crypto exchange Quadriga collapsed in 2018 because of fraud committed by its late founder, Gerald Cotten, who passed away on his honeymoon in India. The report released on June 11, revealed by CBC Canada, says Cotten opened several accounts under aliases and credited himself with “fictitious currency,”. He traded this currency with unsuspecting clients of his Vancouver-based crypto exchange. The deceased Quadriga founder was unable to meet his client’s withdrawal requests when the price of crypto assets fell. He then created a Ponzi scheme, covering the demand using funds from other …

Robert Farkas is negotiating a plea bargain for his role in the fraudulent Centra Tech initial coin offering (ICO) that commissioned celebrity endorsements from Floyd Mayweather Jr and DJ Khaled. According to Law360, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield has granted Farkas’ attorneys’ request to schedule a plea hearing for next week on June 10, with details of the proposed plea yet to be disclosed. The trials of Farkas and fellow Centra founder Sohrab Sharma were delayed until September as the coronavirus lockdown took effect during March. Centra Tech founder to negotiate plea deal Farkas and Sharma face charges for defrauding …

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 …

After attempting to sell her home, California-based psychologist Mary Shea is suing buyer, Mike Cherwenka, for attempting to pay for 30% of the property’s value in the form of a “worthless” crypto asset called ‘Troptions.Gold.’ The dispute has left her unable to sell the home as Cherwenka’s company still claims an interest in it. Shea accuses Cherwenka and his company Best Buy Homes of violating securities and state racketeering laws by misleading herself and other members of the public as to the nature of the Troption virtual currency. Her complaint states: “Cherwenka and Best Buy defrauded Shea by executing a …

Willie Breedt, a South African accused of stealing seven-figures from local investors through his VaultAge Solutions scheme, is believed to have fled the country for Mozambique. The story was reported by News24 on May 29, citing a representative of the South African Department of Home Affairs who indicated that he has not returned to the country since leaving for Mozambique on December 21. Despite allegedly attracting over 2,000 investors, VaultAge Solutions was not registered with South Africa’s Financial Services Conduct Authority. Local police investigate Breedt for fraud VaultAge Solutions was founded in 2018, purporting to offer weekly returns on customer …

In today’s evolving business world, industry leaders across the globe are turning to blockchain technology to revolutionize their respective industries. Although blockchain is still a relatively new concept, a growing number of companies are now investing in it. Blockchain has quickly gained a reputation for providing greater transparency, enhanced security, improved traceability, increased efficiency and low costs. One niche area that could be poised to benefit greatly from it is lotteries. Problems with traditional lotteries Although many global economies were soaring prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the inefficiencies of mature industries can still be addressed by implementing blockchain technology. The …