The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has flagged its third cryptocurrency scam this month, warning investors against a scheme dubbed “The Billion Coin” (TBC). Marketed as a so-called “abundance-based cryptocurrency,” the SEC said in an advisory on April 14 that TBCoin’s promoters present the asset as a decentralized cryptocurrency that “aims to revolutionize the global financial system in order to eradicate world poverty.” The concept of abundance is used to justify the asset’s autonomy from “market-driven norms” and prices by alleging that the more investors there will be, the higher the coin’s price will go. Unauthorized securities vendors face …

New Zealand police issued an alert on April 13 regarding a crypto-related scam that threatens victims with release of information on their porn use. According to a report published in the NZ Herald, the authorities say that the scammers extort victims through email. The scammers claim to have obtained information about the targeted victim’s consumption of pornography and threaten to leak that information if victims do not pay a ransom of NZ$1,900 (US$1,150) in Bitcoin (BTC). Victims receive an alert from the fraudsters, in which they assure that they have hacked the user’s computer and spied on internet activity, mainly …

A trust has sued businessman, Brock Flagstad, over allegedly misappropriating over $2 million in funds that were purportedly designated for cryptocurrency trading. Despite Flagstad soliciting the funds for the purpose of digital asset trading, the James Streibich Revocable Trust accuses the businessman of siphoning money from the investment to fuel an exorbitant lifestyle involving private jets and luxury vehicles. Businessman accused of misappropriating over $2M The complaint has been brought against both Flagstad individually, and against seven companies operated by the businessman — levying allegations of fraud, theft, conspiracy, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. The trust asserts …

Data published on April 10 by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis indicates that the average value of transactions received by the wallets of known scams fell 30% during March. Amid fraudsters’ attempts at leveraging COVID-19 fears to dupe victims into downloading malicious apps, donating to impersonations of charities, or purporting to peddle coronavirus cures, the coronavirus pandemic appears to have driven a sharp decline in crypto scammers’ revenues. The mid-March crash crypto market crash appears to have also impacted the incomes of crypto scammers. COVID-19 scams represent a small percentage of crypto fraud The report asserts that the total daily value …

Facebook and Instagram filed suit against a user who, they allege, operated a cloaking service that allowed ads for a range of scams to slip through the advertisement reviews for both platforms. Facebook’s accusations and request for relief In a civil complaint filed with a federal court in San Francisco on April 9, the social media giants accuse Bassant Gaijar of operating LeadCloak, a software provider specializing in cloaking ads. Per the complaint, Facebook alleges that: “[Gaijar’s] cloaking services were used to promote, among other things, deceptive diet pills and pharmaceuticals, cryptocurrency investment scams, and even misinformation about the economic …

A Bitcoin (BTC) trading scam has claimed the involvement of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry Charles Albert David and his wife Meghan Markle. According to an April 9 report by the Mirror, the royal couple was featured in a fake BBC article where they praised a Bitcoin trading scheme. The fake news piece claimed that the pair talked during a television show about a “wealth loophole” that can “transform anyone into a millionaire within three to four months.” According to the fake article, the scheme would play a role in the couple's very real intentions to step …

Binance has fired back at claims that it ‘embezzled’ hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds that were frozen from a user’s account in November 2018. In a lengthy statement the exchange said the funds were frozen at the request of South Korean law enforcement agencies because the account holder had allegedly received 3,995 Ethereum (ETH) through a listing fee scam. Binance provided screenshots of correspondence with the Korean authorities to back up its claims. The user had earlier claimed South Korean law enforcement authorities had no complaints against him. Forklog reported that $251,194 worth of the seized crypto was …

The Chinese Olympic Committee announced on April 8 that it’s repeatedly received complaints about illegal marketing pertaining to the upcoming Olympic Games. People claiming to be part of the so-called “World Olympic Sports Foundation” say they’re using blockchain technology to help people invest in special products and other commercial developments pertaining to the Olympics. But that money actually ends up in the pockets of anonymous scammers. They make reference to the Tokyo Olympics Torch Relay to trick people into parting with their money, thinking it’s going to a genuine cause. The Chinese Olympic Committee's legal team emphasized in an announcement …

A popular YouTube channel has been hijacked and is currently live-streaming a purported ask-me-anything (AMA) with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. However, the stream, which appears to have been running for 12 hours at press time on April 6, is a scam, encouraging users to send Bitcoin (BTC) payments, with the promise of a non-existent 5,000 BTC giveaway. Classic crypto scam gets a fresh coat of paint The YouTube scam follows a similar format to the well-known Twitter con, whereby a spoof account will be set up to mimic a well-known crypto or celebrity figure. Said figure has a large amount …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a former pastor and his wife for stealing $500,000 through a trio of fraudulent businesses, including a cryptocurrency offering purportedly backed by a bottled water business. According to a complaint filed on April 2, the pair also sold fake shares in their struggling water business, Teshuater, in addition to conjuring up a non-existent Bitcoin (BTC) mining outfit to dupe investors in Houston, Texas. Former pastor offers 1,400% returns overnight The complaint alleges that Larry and Shuwana Leonard “targeted investors in the African-American community by promising oversized returns on various investments related …

Three alleged cryptocurrency traders ran a Ponzi scheme which scammed more than 100 investors for over $35 million, according to a lawsuit filed by an entity formed by the victims in a federal court of Florida, United States. According to an announcement published on April 2, Q3 Investment Recovery Vehicle, who represents defrauded investors, accused the trio of alleged crypto traders of cheating victims by promising them a winning trading formula. Former NYSE and Wells Fargo workers among the accused The federal securities fraud case names three individuals as the primary perpetrators of the scheme. They include James Seijas, who …

As the world continues to battle with the deadly coronavirus pandemic, immoral cybercriminals are once again on the prowl. This time, they are using the chaos and fear through phishing techniques and sophisticated malware hacks to access people’s crypto holdings. On March 27, residents in the United Kingdom received warnings from their local councils “to be on their guard against a series of scams attempting to take advantage of the coronavirus outbreak.” Scammers have been using other tricks to lure victims, including the use of false Bitcoin (BTC) donation channels, fake maps of the coronavirus’s spread that steal private data …