A Bitcoin (BTC) peer-to-peer exchange made on the HodlHodl platform went awry as a scammer appears to have used a SIM spoofing attack to make the seller believe he was about to receive the money. The episode was reported on June 2 by a Reddit user going by the name of Gandeloft. According to the victim, he wanted to cash out his Bitcoin savings of 0.1747 BTC, worth $1677 as of press time. Through the HodlHodl platform, he found a merchant willing to offer 1650 Euro, or $1848, for the Bitcoins. This appears to have been higher than the going …

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 …

Chinese authorities have dismantled a group of alleged scammers posing as Huobi exchange officials, who were operating an over-the-counter (OTC) website. As reported by local media outlet Jinse, on May 20 police arrested 12 suspects in Guangdong province believed to be behind the scheme, after an investigation found that WeChat crypto trading groups had been infiltrated from November 2019. Scammers persuaded victims to invest in the fake OTC platform, which was used for money laundering, and then sent the defrauded money to overseas accounts. Fraud committed through WeChat Local authorities announced that they seized computers, mobile phones, bank cards, and …

The scam, Wotoken, took in roughly $1 billion worth of crypto at current prices from over 715,000 victims. One of the scam’s core operators is purportedly linked to PlusToken — a multi-billion Ponzi that is believed to have impacted the price trajectory of Bitcoin (BTC) on numerous occasions throughout 2019. China’s second ten-figure Ponzi busted Earlier today, Chinese media outlet, Qianba, reported that a case surrounding “super large MLM network” Wotoken had opened for trial on May 14 in Yancheng City. The scam claimed to generate returns for users through employing algorithmic trading bots, offering referral commissions to affiliates. However, …

Scammers are streaming Michael Bloomberg speeches on YouTube, claiming that the former presidential candidate is giving away free Bitcoin (BTC). Michael Bloomberg BTC Giveaway On May 14, there were at least two such incidents with an apparent combined audience of almost 60,000. The scammers asked viewers to send between 0.1 BTC and 250 BTC to the video’s Bitcoin address, promising to return double their value. The channel alleged that Michael Bloomberg was facilitating crypto adoption through this mechanism. All related videos have since been removed by YouTube. Screenshots Of YouTube Streams. Source: Cointelegraph. According to the information from WHOis.net, a …

While widely written off as a scam earlier this year, Richard Heart’s controversial HEX is fast approaching a $1 billion market cap. According to crypto analytics site CoinMarketCap, the HEX token had a market cap of over $979 million on May 14 with a value of $0.006 at the time of writing. Prior to mid-February, the value of the coin was so small, many sites simply couldn’t measure it. HEX is an ERC-20 token that pays holders for rewards instead of miners, essentially a crypto version of a traditional fixed deposit account. Users can lock up funds, then receive their …

One of the persons behind an alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme has once again been denied bail. The accused, John Caruso, continues to be considered an extreme flight risk despite pleading not guilty earlier in 2020. As filed by Judge John Tuchi on May 14, Caruso requested another emergency motion asking to be released from prison, after a similar request was denied in April by Judge Michelle Burns. Caruso’s legal team attempted a COVID-19 defense, arguing that the spread of the virus puts the defendant at risk of infection while he stays in prison. Both of the judges reviewing the motion …

The Shanghai branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) published an article detailing the signs of a financial scam, mentioning virtual currency and blockchain as signs of a fraudulent offering. The article, published on May 12 on Chinese social media platform QQ, consists of 16 answers to common questions that explain what are the signs of a securities fraud. While the article includes explanations for a variety of traditional fraud mechanisms, it also urges to be especially careful when dealing with “virtual currency” and “blockchain.” The recommendation is part of a generic “cheat sheet” that also includes fraud schemes …

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. …

The Commodity and Futures Exchange Commission (CFTC) has charged executives of American and Israeli firms for an alleged $15 million scam involving cryptocurrencies and binary options. Court documents filed on May 5 mention two major scams, the first involving binary options, which was carried out between October 2013 and November 2016, and the second involving digital assets, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), which was carried out between November 2013 and August 2018. The CFTC charged Israel-based Tal Valariola and Itay Barak of Digital Platinum Limited for aiding the United States-based firm All In Publishing (AIP) to create and …

Judge Valerie Caproni lifted the stay on a class-action lawsuit brought against the notorious crypto Ponzi scheme OneCoin 12 months ago. An order signed by the New York District judge mandates that all parties must submit a proposed schedule for the defendants to respond to the complaint before May 9. The court order reads: No later than May 8, 2020, the parties must jointly submit a proposed schedule for Defendants to answer, move to dismiss, or otherwise respond to the Amended Complaint. According to documents filed April 27, defendants David Pike and Mark Scott objected to the stay being lifted, …

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 …