Revenue from crypto-related crime dropped by more than half in 2020 according to Chainalysis’ annual report on the subject. Cybercriminals netted around $5 billion less than the $10 billion plus they got away with in 2019, representing a 53% fall. Transactions involving illicit funds have decreased even more rapidly than the total volume of those funds, falling from 2.1% of all transactions analyzed in 2019 down to just 0.34% last year. Among the eight categories of transactions deemed “illicit” by Chainalysis, the dollar amount of crypto taken in by scams decreased the most, by 71% to $2.6B, largely due to …

South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority is sounding the cryptocurrency scam alarm once again. In a press release issued on Thursday, the FSCA enjoined the public to do their own due diligence before investing in any crypto-related project. According to the FSCA the high-risk nature of the crypto investment space is being further exacerbated by the multitude of elaborate cryptocurrency scams in the country. Indeed, as previously reported by Cointelegraph, the spate of crypto scams in South Africa is pushing the authorities towards stricter regulatory control over the industry. Back in January, interim liquidators of an alleged South African Bitcoin …

Unsuspecting investors have lost $16 billion by buying into crypto projects they thought would be the next best thing. And that money is nearly impossible to recover. As the crypto industry established itself as a disruptor of currency and technology and as Bitcoin (BTC) began to gain traction in 2017, scammers took advantage of naïve investors interested in getting involved. Related: Crypto Crimes Rated: From the Twitter Hackers to Not Your Keyser, Not Your Coins Spotting the scams The crypto startup market is growing and expanding every day. There are startups working to create alternative banking opportunities, which raise capital …

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged three individuals for various cryptocurrency frauds including the 2018 initial coin offering for the Steven Seagal-promoted altcoin, Bitcoiin2Gen. A Feb. 1 SEC announcement estimates that Bitcoiin Gen founder John DeMarr, Start Options founder Kristijan Krstic, and promotor Robin Enos duped investors out of more than $11 million through two fraudulent and unregistered securities offerings from December 2017 until May 2018. The SEC alleges that Krstic and DeMarr first spruiked Start Options’ purported crypto asset mining and trading platform in December 2017 and January 2017, falsely claiming it was “the largest Bitcoin exchange …

United States authorities have brought criminal charges against a crypto trader whom they say defrauded investors out of over $5 million. The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it had arrested Jeremy Spence. Between 2017 and 2019, 24-year-old Spence operated a crypto investment scheme under the name "Coin Signals," primarily via Twitter and Discord. The announcement quoted Federal Bureau of Investigation Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney as saying: “As alleged, Jeremy Spence misrepresented the success of his investment platform in order to entice people to send money his way. Because his trading was less than profitable and significantly less successful …

Less than a month after a Cape Town High Court granted a provisional order of liquidation against Mirror Trading International, the liquidators are seeking expanded powers to investigate the company and recover investor funds. According to Herman Bester, one of the four appointed liquidators, the team needs to operate across multiple jurisdictions to ascertain the full scope of MTI’s operation. The liquidators are currently attempting to trace all the company’s assets. After this process, the team will submit a formal report to the court indicating the likelihood of successfully returning investor funds to the victims of the alleged scam. According …

The young artist, Keyshawn Butler, confirmed on his Instagram page that his YouTube page had been hacked on 7 January, although he seemed unaware what the channel was being used for. HiiiKey’s channel has around 249,000 subscribers on YouTube. American rapper HiiiKey’s YouTube channel has reportedly been hacked and used to promote a fake Bitcoin and Ethereum giveaway that has stolen over $70,000 from unwitting users. The stream has been active for over 7 hours and is still live as of press time. After gaining control of his channel, the hackers then completely changed the layout of the YouTube page …

A 60-year-old man was arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Thursda for allegedly heading a 25 million rupee ($340,000) cryptocurrency scam. Umesh Verma, a former jeweler and greeting card maker, was held by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi police after arriving from Dubai. Police allege that Verma, along with his son Bharat, convinced hundreds to invest in a scheme going by the name of Pluto Exchange, promising monthly returns of 20% to 30%. The scheme issued a "cryptocurrency" called Coin Zarus in exchange for investments. However, shortly after the scheme launched in November 2017, returns dried …

Unlike in previous years, crypto news in 2020 has not been dominated by major exchange hacks and million dollar Bitcoin thefts. However, there have still been quite a few and most of them have originated from the nascent decentralized finance sector. DeFi has been one of the main drivers of crypto market momentum in 2020 and it stands to reason that the emerging financial landscape has been a magnet for scammers and hackers. Largely unaudited smart contracts coupled with cloned code have been a recipe for vulnerabilities and exploits, often resulting in millions of dollars in digital assets being pilfered. …

Yes, yes, I know: You’re an excellent Twatter, and omitting from this list your one zinger that got 50 likes borders malfeasance. Likewise, this reporter is a negligent compiler of listicles for overlooking some spicy day where your favorite trader-nee-influencer colorfully described Brad Garlinghouse’s anatomy. If it’s any consolation, please know that I hate the hellsite just as much as you do. The year was terrible for almost all of the planet, and even though crypto enjoyed a strong secular bull market, everyone still managed to come together, rise above adversity, and treat each other horribly anyway. I looked up …

Livecoin, a lesser-known Russian cryptocurrency exchange, has abruptly halted operations in the aftermath of an alleged hacker attack on Christmas day. According to Livecoin’s main page, the exchange has suffered a “carefully planned attack” causing the platform to lose control of all of its servers, backend and nodes. The exchange urged its customers to stop using its services including deposits, trading and API. “We were not able to stop our service in time. Our news channels were compromised as well. At the moment, we partially control frontend, and so we’re able to place this announcement," Livecoin’s main page reads. Livecoin …

According to court reports from Friday, yet another suspected player behind the OneCoin ponzi scheme is now set to face justice. On Friday, counsel for marketing guru Karl Sebastian Greenwood and US prosecutors informed Manhattan Judge Edgardo Ramos that the two sides are currently discussing a plea deal for Greenwood, who was indicted in 2018 for charges relating to his involvement in the OneCoin Ponzi scheme. Greenwood — who is currently facing five charges including money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy — was described in previous civil litigation as the “public face of OneCoin.” Greenwood was responsible for pitching OneCoin and …