Ripple (XRP) wallet and gateway-as-a-service provider GateHub has warned that there is a phishing scam campaign targeting its cryptocurrency wallet users, as per an announcement on June 13. According to the announcement, GateHub’s wallet users are being sent malicious emails from addresses that look like they are from GateHub: “@gatehub.com” and “@gatehub.net.” The emails instruct the users to transfer their funds to a “secure” wallet, which is owned by the attacker, because their private keys are allegedly compromised due to insufficient security precautions. GateHub notes that, in addition to the attack being an unaffiliated phishing attempt, the service provider never …

Earlier this week, Dutch billionaire John De Mol launched a lawsuit against Facebook over crypto ads using his image without permission. De Mol claims that consumers have lost as much as 1.7 million euros (over $1.9 million) due to the ads, and his reputation was damaged as a result. It is not the first time the California-based media giant is being sued over fake bitcoin ads — and, despite Facebook’s efforts to eliminate the problem, it seems that the issue persists. Brief introduction to Facebook’s relationship with crypto ads In January 2018, Facebook became the first major social media platform …

John De Mol, a Dutch billionaire responsible for the local Big Brother and The Voice shows, filed a lawsuit against Facebook over crypto ads using his image without permission, Reuters reports on June 5. Per the report, the ads promoted cryptocurrency scams using Mol’s image, which allegedly damaged his reputation. The ads in question reportedly advertised fake cryptocurrency-related businesses or encouraged users to send money to buy bitcoin (BTC), all while claiming that the projects have Mol’s baking or involvement. According to Reuters, Mol’s lawyers claim that consumers have lost €1.7 million (over $1.9 million) as a consequence of such …

A Sao Paulo court has blocked funds in bank accounts linked to Grupo Bitcoin Banco — with 726,630 reals (about $188,000 at press time) frozen, Cointelegraph Brazil reported on June 5. Two people, along with one company, have accused GBB of engaging in abusive practices after they were unable to make conversions back into reals or withdraw funds to their bank accounts because of a temporary suspension on transactions. The trio claimed they have a total 726,630 reals on GBB’s platform and urged a judge at the Court of Justice of the State of Sao Paulo to take urgent guardianship …

Indian police have reportedly discovered an alleged multi-million dollar cryptocurrency scam, involving a BitConnect promoter, local media outlet the Times of India reported on June 3. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Gujarat, India, has accused Divyesh Darji — a promoter of now-defunct cryptocurrency investment program BitConnect that ceased its operations in January of last year — of luring people to invest into “Regal Coin,” promising unrealistic returns of as high as 5,000% on investment. A CID official said that the estimated amount of the scam reaches into the tens of millions of rupees. Per the CID, Darji began offering …

An app that claims to give users the chance to earn $45 a day in free bitcoin (BTC) is a scam, according to a tweet by an “independent malware hunter” posted on May 20. The software, known as Bitcoin Collector, is advertised on a website that supposedly enables users to share a unique URL with their friends with payouts of 3 ether (ETH) (worth about $800 at press time) for every 1,000 people who click on it. But according to a security researcher who goes by the nickname Frost on Twitter, the app is a front for attempts to steal …

The primary financial regulator of the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), warned that ICAP Crypto is a clone firm in a public announcement on May 24. According to the report, ICAP Crypto is a clone firm of ICAP Europe Limited. Clone firms are a type of scam in which the scammers use information from legitimate firms in an attempt to convince targets that they are genuine. In this case, ICAP Europe Limited is a legitimate firm that is authorized by the FCA, and its details are being propagated in scams using the similarly-named ICAP Crypto “firm” which is …

The primary financial regulator of the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), reports that crypto investors in the country lost over $34 million due to cryptocurrency and forex scams from 2018–2019 the Financial Times reports on May 20. According to the data, which the FCA gathered from the U.K. national fraud and cybercrime reporting center, Action Fraud, individual loss due to scams decreased from $76,000 to $18,500 while total losses fell by $14 million. However, the number of reports more than tripled to reach 1,834, with 81 percent of such reports being crypto scam claims. Per the report, the …

Ads pertaining to blockchain tech, industry news, as well as events and educational materials for cryptocurrencies can now be displayed on Facebook without prior approval. The social media giant announced the development on Facebook Business on May 8. This marks a change from last year, when Facebook implemented a policy that required crypto and blockchain promoters to get prior consent before they could run advertisements. The press release goes on to specify that this change will not apply to advertisements that seek to promote a particular cryptocurrency, and ads for initial coin offerings (ICOs) remain forbidden. The stated purpose of …

Former OneCoin investor Christine Grablis is suing the cryptocurrency investment scheme for fraud, according to a complaint filed on May 7. Grablis is seeking damages and a class action suit to represent other investors purportedly defrauded by OneCoin. The full list of defendants in this lawsuit — Grablis v. OneCoin Ltd. — includes OneCoin Ltd, Ruja Ignatova, Konstantin Ignatov, Sebastian Greenwood, Mark Scott, along with other potential parties who have yet to be named. According to a Bloomberg report on May 7, OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova has been charged with wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering; Konstantin Ignatova, Ruja’s …

The Central Bank of Myanmar has urged consumers to stop trading cryptocurrencies amid fears that inexperienced users could lose money, Southeast Asian news outlet The Irrawaddy reported on May 3. In a statement obtained by the website, the central bank said it had received reports of several scams targeting those who lack understanding about virtual currencies. Authorities in Myanmar, also known as Burma, say the likes of bitcoin (BTC,) ether (ETH) and litecoin (LTC) are being traded in the country through Facebook profiles as well as websites. According to the report, the central bank has stressed that the use of …

A New Zealand church accused of colluding with a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme in targeting the congregation, has denied knowingly participating in illegal activity in a Facebook statement on May 2. The Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church (SISDAC) is one of two places of worship accused of having links to OneCoin, which raised hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide by luring investors with the promise of huge returns. According to RadioNZ, the scam specifically targeted New Zealand’s Samoan community — with OneCoin workers using SISDAC and the Samoa Worship Center “to reach a vast network of would-be investors.” One woman …