Police from the U.K city of Leicestershire issued a statement regarding the February arrest of darknet vendor, Paul Johnson, on April 18. Johnson was jailed for eight years and is believed to have made more than $2.5 million from selling narcotics online. Leicestershire police officer, sergeant Phil Ariss, stated that “digital media investigators accompanied officers on the warrant,” leading to the seizure of roughly $375,300 in crypto assets. Phil Ariss has specialized in crypto policing since 2016 Ariss has predominantly dealt with cryptocurrency since he joined the East Midlands Special Operations Unit Cybercrime Team in 2016, and then the National …

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 …

Russian authorities have detained a group of online criminals that reportedly sold massive amounts of counterfeit banknotes on the dark web in return for cryptocurrencies. According to an April 7 report from Russian news agency Kommersant, the criminal group has managed to sell more than 1 billion counterfeit Russian rubles, worth around $13 million as of press time. Criminals operated via Russia’s largest darknet marketplace As the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs reported to Kommersant, the online perpetrators were operating currency counterfeiting via a darknet store on Russia’s largest darknet marketplace, Hydra. According to the report, the store was operating …

The Manitoba Securities Commission (MSC) has issued a public warning against cryptocurrency scams after reports of fraud involving two European firms. On March 20, the Manitoba securities watchdog published an investor alert regarding Jbcapitals and Halifax & Associated for defrauding a rural Manitoban of more than $5,500. The two firms are affiliated with each other and primarily operate in Switzerland and Denmark. Crypto scammers target victims on Facebook Senior MSC investigator Jason Roy stated that the victim was lured by a Facebook ad for Jbcapitals: “The company, Jbcapitals claimed to invest in Bitcoin/cryptocurrency markets on behalf of their clients with …

United Kingdom police forces have received hundreds of blackmailing complaints since 2018, in which nefarious parties demanded Bitcoin (BTC). By tracking numbers from 2018 and 2019 across thirteen U.K. police teams, think tank Parliament Street found 562 reports of blackmailers demanding Bitcoin, said a March 19 statement provided to Cointelegraph. Some places saw a larger spike than others England’s North Yorkshire Police force saw a massive spike in reported Bitcoin blackmailing cases in 2019. The outfit reported a mere six incidents in 2018, while 2019 yielded 115 accounts, the statement detailed. One report showed ransomware efforts in which a hacker …

While some governments are selling Bitcoins (BTC) confiscated through law enforcement actions, Finland is yet to decide what to do with its seized BTC. Finnish Customs, operating under the Ministry of Finance, has reportedly been deliberating about what to do with 1,666 Bitcoins seized from drug criminals years ago. As reported by Finland's national public broadcasting firm on Feb. 25, the Finnish Customs service doesn’t want to auction the confiscated Bitcoin because the cryptocurrency could be returned to the hands of criminals. Price of seized Bitcoins surges since the confiscation According to the report, at the time of the seizure, …

The Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) has arrested two men for allegedly laundering money with cryptocurrencies. According to a statement released by the International Revenue Service on Feb. 18, the two men were arrested on Feb. 17 in connection to two separate criminal investigations into money laundering using cryptocurrencies. Both investigations were led by the National Office for Serious Fraud, Environmental Crime and Asset Confiscation. The money trail One of the suspects was a 45-year-old man who is accused of laundering 2.1 million euros. He purportedly used large purchases with a cryptocurrency-backed credit card that the Netherlands tax …

Interpol has collaborated with cybersecurity firm Trend Micro to reduce cryptojacking affecting MikroTik routers across South-East Asia, according to a Jan. 8 press release. Though the collaboration reduced the number of affected devices by 78 percent, this is unlikely to have made a significant impact on mining hashrate. Cryptojacking is a malicious practice where attackers infect common devices with crypto mining malware, utilizing the victim’s resources to mine cryptocurrency. Cybersecurity firm Trend Micro collaborated with Interpol’s Global Complex for Innovation, based in Singapore, to sanitize MikroTik routers infected with mining malware. As part of the “Operation Goldfish Alpha,” Trend Micro …

Yang Zuoxing, formerly a top chip designer for mining hardware giant Bitmain, has allegedly been arrested on suspicion of embezzlement. A Dec. 16 Bloomberg report cites three unnamed sources and a police statement released by prosecutors in Beijing’s Nanshan district on Dec. 12, as evidence for the claim. The authorities’ statement reportedly omitted reference to Yang’s full Chinese name, ostensibly to protect his anonymity. Industry rivalries Yang Zuoxing had worked as a processor design director at Bitmain until 2016, where he helped develop the manufacturer’s flagship Antminer S7 and S9 models. He left the firm in June of that year, …

Thai immigration officials have arrested 24 Chinese nationals who were running an alleged cryptocurrency scam call center in the Rama III neighborhood of Bangkok. According to an official announcement on Dec. 2, the Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Police arrested 24 individuals, seized 61 laptops, 424 mobile phones and several routers. The Immigration Bureau further states that the head of the operation would hire employees on three-month contracts, wherein all their expenses were paid including a 5,000 yuan ($710) monthly salary. After arriving, workers would surrender their passports to the head of the operation. Employees would work shifts from …

Chinese authorities shut down local cryptocurrency exchange BISS and arrested 10 people suspected of being involved in its operations. Local media Sohu reported on the actions undertaken by Chinese authorities on Nov. 22. However, the date at which the event itself took place is unclear. The same day, founding partner of blockchain-based investment company Primitive Ventures Dovey Wan said on Twitter that the local cryptocurrency community had known of the development for two weeks. However, the news was published much later. She also claimed that the Beijing-based exchange in question is noteworthy: “It’s a relatively known up-and-rising exchange.” In a …

Chinese authorities have reportedly raided and shut down the Shanghai offices of leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Citing unnamed local sources, The Block says that local police have shut down Binance’s offices after raiding the premises. Between 50–100 of the exchange’s employees reportedly worked out of the Shanghai location. Binance has not responded to Cointelegraph’s requests for comment as of press time. Closure follows crackdown The purported raid follows a crackdown on cryptocurrency-related businesses and activities in the country. Recently, financial authorities in China issued a notice to the public, directing individuals to report businesses engaged in virtual asset trading to …