Chinese Authorities Warn About ‘Sophisticated’ Digital Yuan Scam- Promotes Access to a ‘$186M Secret’ Government Fund

As China keeps paving the way to adopt its central bank digital currency (CBDC), scammers are also actively emerging on the scene.

Digital Yuan Scammers Gathering Momentum as Token Rollout Nears

Police in China are warning that digital yuan-themed scams are starting to appear in the country with more regularity – as opportunistic fraudsters attempt to trick citizens out of their money with central bank digital currency (CBDC)-themed get-rich-quick schemes. The digital token is nearing issuance, with the latest pilot seeing thousands of citizens receive bona fide

Japanese Lonely Hearts Warned to Beware Dating App Crypto Scammers

Japanese men aged 30-49 are increasingly finding themselves the target of sophisticated crypto scams that pry on love-hungry users via dating apps – with a national watchdog stepping in with a warning to be mindful of the risks of investing in tokens on the advice of strangers. The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (NCAC), the state’s biggest consumer

Austrian regulators call for stricter crypto regulations amid rising fraud

Crypto scams appear to be dominating investment fraud cases in Austria. Austrian regulators are calling for stricter crypto laws amid a spate of elaborate investment scams involving cryptocurrency and digital assets. According to a Bloomberg report of Friday, Austria’s Financial Market Authority has revealed that more than 60% of all reported financial fraud in the country involve crypto trading products. The FMA says these crypto scammers are using social media platforms like Telegram and TikTok to advertise their fraudulent offerings to would-be victims. Commenting on the need for stricter crypto regulations to curb the menace of these fraudulent investment activities, Klaus Grubelnik, a spokesperson for the FMA remarked: “We see a great need for stricter regulation.

TORN soars 200% as Tornado.Cash’s governance token becomes tradable

Apes rejoice as yet another token airdrop fattens their portfolios The decentralized finance (DeFi) “stimulus checks” keep coming as Tornado.Cash joins Uniswap, Badger DAO, StakeDAO, and others in “airdropping” a now-tradable TORN governance token to early protocol participants. Tornado Cash, which is an Ethereum “tumbling” service that obscures transactional history in order to preserve user privacy (as well as allow scammers and hackers a method to launder their funds), first announced the launch of a governance token in December.

Scammers target Discord users with fake exchange and Bitcoin giveaways

Scammers are targeting Discord users on crypto-focused servers, through private messages that appear to come from fake exchanges that are giving away Bitcoin and Ether.

Discord Scammers Lure Users to Fake Exchange With Promise of Free Bitcoin

The scammers may be trying to collect a database of crypto users for sale on the dark web, said Kaspersky.

Crypto industry must keep scammers from stealing another $16 billion

Crypto scams don’t just impact investors but the credibility of the industry as a whole, stagnating crypto’s progress. Unsuspecting investors have lost $16 billion by buying into crypto projects they thought would be the next best thing.

California Man Loses $27,000 in Bitcoin After Falling Prey to Crypto Scammers

In Daly City, California, authorities are investigating a crypto scam incident where a man lost $27,000 worth of bitcoin.

Substack Newsletters Are Being Used to Spread Crypto Scams

Substack is being leveraged by scammers for its ease of use and reach.

Fraudulent COVID-19 Vaccines Offered On The Dark Web For Up To $1,000 In Bitcoin

Scammers advertising COVID-19 vaccines on the dark web dupe people into transferring funds in bitcoins but fail to actually send the doses.

Crypto exchange owner gets 10 years in prison for aiding scammers

The operator of a Bulgarian crypto exchange has received a 10-year prison sentence for money laundering in connection with an Eastern European cybercrime syndicate. Rossen Iossifov, the convicted owner of the RG Coins crypto exchange platform has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for money laundering. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, a federal jury in Frankfort Kentucky found the Bulgarian national guilty of conspiracy to commit racketeering and money laundering back in Sep.

Ledger Scammers Reportedly Go Trans-Wallet & Target Trezor Users

The Ledger hardware wallet phishing saga continues, but has now spread to competitors, with Trezor users reportedly becoming the scammers' targets as well.

Indian Crypto Trader Arrested for Allegedly Using USDT to Launder Money on Behalf of Chinese Online Betting Scammers

An Indian law enforcement agency has arrested Naisar Kothari, a cryptocurrency trader, for his role in a money-laundering scheme linked to online Chinese betting scams.

Popular Browsers Like Google Fail to Catch Copycat Crypto Sites, Scams Make the Top Results

As the digital asset economy grows popular and a number of crypto companies become well known, copycat scammers appear in greater numbers.

Belgian Regulator Warns of Crypto Scammers That Target Male Tinder Users With Fake ICOs

The Belgian regulator, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), says scammers are employing new techniques which target Tinder and Facebook users.

PlusToken Crypto Scammers Slammed With 11-Year Jail Sentence

Members of the PlusToken Ponzi scheme were slammed with 11 years of jail time by Chinese authorities.

Ripple Impersonated by Scammers in a Fraudulent “XRP Incentive Plan” Token Giveaway

Cryptocurrency scammers have been capitalizing on Ripple’s success by rolling out a new XRP giveaway initiative that proved to be fraudulent.

No, You Can’t Buy Shares in Bitcoin

With bitcoin going through an extended bull-run, scammers and con artists have been on hand to exploit a general fear of missing out (FOMO).

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Worth $4 Billion Seized From Top Crypto Ponzi Group

Chinese authorities have seized $4 billion worth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from the PlusToken scammers.

Fake Ethereum Tokens Net $53,000 in Just 30 Minutes

Scammers issued an Ethereum token to jump in on the popularity of a new product released by Yearn Finance founder Andre Cronje—which was never supposed to have one.

Meta 1 Coin Scammers Charged with Default Judgment by SEC for No Show

The SEC filed a default judgment against Meta 1 Coin defendants, after their no show for a fraud probe where they raised $9 million from a fraudulent ICO.

Hackers, Scammers Have Stolen $7.6B in Crypto Since 2011

Billions of dollars have been stolen through exchange hacks and scams, according to a new report from blockchain analytics firm Crystal Blockchain.

Bitcoin hits $14K, UNI airdrop rejected, scammers target Trump: Hodler’s Digest, Oct. 26–Nov. 1

The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — one week on Cointelegraph in one link! Coming every Sunday, Hodlers Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week.

Trump Hackers Spur US Interest in Monero…But Not Prices

Source: a screenshot, Instagram/realdonaldtrump Crypto scammers who successfully hacked into United States President Donald Trump’s election campaign looking for payment in monero (XMR) appear to have sparked a new interest in the most popular privacy coin – albeit one that has failed to save it from a price slide. [email protected]'s campaign website has been hacked.

Crypto scammers deface Trump campaign website one week from elections

Just one week before the election, President Donald Trump’s website was briefly defaced by crypto scammers. One of United States President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign websites was briefly defaced yesterday, according to an Oct.

Beware: Latest Ledger Email Phishing Scam Making The Rounds

The crypto industry is flooded with scammers preying on the vulnerable, and their latest attempt is to dupe hardware wallet Ledger consumers into revealing their credentials or downloading malware. The post Beware: Latest Ledger Email Phishing Scam Making The Rounds appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Victim Stung for BTC 22 as DoppelPaymer Scammers Claim Latest Victim

A hapless victim has reportedly forked out a whopping BTC 22 – worth over USD 263,000 – to DoppelPaymer ransomware scammers, per data published by tracking website ScamAlert. Earlier this year, antivirus software developer Avast warned that there had been a recent resurgence in scammers making use of the notorious ransomware. Like other, similar malware, DoppelPaymer

Fraudsters are switching from credit cards to Bitcoin, says consumer protection company

Scammers are taking advantage of one of Bitcoin's strengths, as once lauded by Satoshi Nakamoto. Fraudsters are taking advantage of the irreversible nature of crypto transactions, says MyChargeBack’s vice president of global operations, Michael Cohen.

Crypto scammers plague Estonia’s e-residency program

Local authorities hope that tackling the issue will restore trust in the e-residency program. The e-residency program of Estonia is now under the local regulator’s radar as foreigners registered as e-residents of the Baltic nation are being linked to cryptocurrency frauds.  The local police’s Financial Intelligence Unit has discovered that overseas companies owned by e-residents of Estonia have been involved in multiple large-scale exit scams. Regulators also suspect that Estonian firms and e-residents were involved in organizing initial coin offering scams, according to the police report cited by Bloomberg. This comes only three months after the crypto-friendly nation became the epicenter of a $220 billion money laundering scandal.

HatchDAO scammers pull liquidity as DeFi faces another setback

"Just like locking the door doesn’t guarantee the safety of your home, TrustToken’s team token lock doesn’t guarantee liquidity won’t be pulled." This was the statement made by Jeff Kirdeikis The post HatchDAO scammers pull liquidity as DeFi faces another setback appeared first on AMBCrypto.

You won’t believe the depths to which crypto scammers on Twitter are willing to sink

Twitter doesn’t seem able to move fast enough to stop thieves from grossly misusing their platform. Last Friday night, crypto YouTuber Ivan on Tech messaged me on Twitter.

Beware: Fake Uniswap (UNI) Token Giveaways Already Roaming the Internet

A day after Uniswap released its governance token, scammers have used the momentum to host a myriad of fake UNI giveaways on YouTube by impersonating Uniswap's creator. The post Beware: Fake Uniswap (UNI) Token Giveaways Already Roaming the Internet appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Who owns more Bitcoin: Winklevoss Twins, Mt. Gox or Plus Token Scammers?

And how much did Satoshi Nakamoto contribute to the 'Zombie' fund? Blockchain Center has compiled data for some of the biggest Bitcoin (BTC) hodlers — from the Winklevoss twins to various scammers and hackers, and even “zombie coins”.  Allegedly, the twins own 150,000 BTC, which places them between the Bitfinex hackers, who own 120,000 BTC, and the Mt.

Ethereum Scammers Target Indian Prime Minister in Twitter Hack

An account used by Narendra Modi to source relief payments and donations sent out a crypto address for accepting payments today.

Crypto Investment Fraud Generates $27 Million, SEC Charges Scammers Posing as Pastors

The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against three men posing as pastors who defrauded churchgoers in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.

Scammers Pose as Religious Workers in $27 Million Crypto Fraud, Alleges SEC

Charity scams operating under the guise of religion are common enough.

Dash Nigeria Takes Digital Currency Education Campaign to Regulators and Key Institutions

With sophisticated fraud schemes seemingly overwhelming the African crypto market, there is a growing need for players in the space to help fight this scourge.

Waterloo residents have lost $430K to crypto scams this year

Bitcoin scammers have thus far proven to be unstoppable in Canada. Waterloo, Ontario is the first Canadian city to issue a general warning after 78 residents were duped by crypto scammers in 2020. According to Global News, Waterloo residents have lost more than $430,000 so far this year, with 29 of the 78 falling victim in July alone.  As previously reported, fraudsters have been impersonating government officials, asking victims to deposit money in various Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs under the threat of legal ramifications.  Scammers told one resident that more than 25 bank accounts had been opened under his name, and then used to launder money.

Youtuber Explains How Crypto Scammers Took Control of His Account

It’s not your traditional malware scam. The modus operandi of crypto scammers differ in each case as it happens with the rest, but this time, a popular Youtuber who has 2.43 million subscribers explained on August 20 how his channel was seized by hackers to launch an XRP fake giveaway campaign. According to a video published by David Damasceno, who runs Universo Curioso, cybercriminals took control of his account after receiving a contact request from an individual offering him a video editing tool. The fake software was called Zenium Editor, which also handles advertising revenues, and when Damasceno downloaded and installed the app, the damage has been done.

XRP Crypto Scammers Seize 2.5m-sub YouTube Account, Start Live-streaming

Source: Adobe/filins (edited by Cryptonews) 2020 is becoming the year of the social media crypto scam hackers after raiders took control of the YouTube accounts belonging to a 2.43 million-subscriber Brazilian channel – filling it up with videos promoting an XRP scam. In a video from UniversoCurioso, the channel’s operator David Damasceno explained that hackers obtained access to his YouTube

Billionaire Chris Kirubi Warns Followers of Bitcoin Scammers Impersonating the Kenyan Tycoon

Dr Chris Kirubi continues fighting against Bitcoin scams using his name as an endorsement.

US Prosecutors Unseal Indictment of $20 Million Dollar Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme

US prosecutors have recently indicted a group of investment scammers who have orchestrated a cryptocurrency mining fraud following a Ponzi scheme protocol.

Fake Tokens Continue to Plague Uniswap

The growing popularity of Uniswap is continuing to attract scammers, with fraudulent coins impersonating token sales for top crypto projects. Fake coins continue to plague decentralized exchange Uniswap, with prominent crypto projects associated with upcoming token sales reporting impersonators trading on the platform. On August 19, upcoming decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol Teller Finance tweeted that a fake Teller token and Uniswap pool had been created. “Teller Labs has not made any official announcements on any potential, planned, or upcoming token launches.” The highly anticipated NEAR Protocol token sale also attracted impersonation scams in the lead-up to its commencement last week, tweeting that any NEAR tokens not officially sanctioned: “The only place for official word of NEAR tokens is near.org/tokens.

1,543,000 XRP Stolen by Scam Artists on YouTube, 60% of Victims Use Coinbase: Report

Scammers have stolen 1.543 million XRP through fraudulent videos on YouTube, according to the ledger tracking firm Xrplorer.

From Call Centers to Cryptos: India’s Scammers Don't Seem to Stop

As cryptos gain ground in India and Bitcoin price spikes, Indian scammers are likely to make the most of the opportunity. India is the hub for call center scams.

Mobile Crypto Scam Targets Wealthy Indian Investors

Scammers are going to greater lengths than ever to acquire other people’s crypto. A new cryptocurrency scam in India is targeting wealthy individuals using a fake mobile app. According to India TV News, cybercriminals are targeting high income individuals across India.

Polish Financial Watchdog Impersonated by Crypto Scammers

The PFSA warns scammers are asking people to send cryptos to verify a transaction’s legality before depositing them in a fake investment fund. The Polish Financial Supervision Authority, or PFSA, issued a warning on the surge of scammers offering fake crypto investment opportunities, which they claim to be the only authorized investment fund in Poland. The scammers call potential victims by asking them to sell or buy cryptocurrencies through the fake fund, but first, they should send the cryptos to the PFSA compliance team’s wallet to verify the legality of the transactions and then, the regulator clears the payment to be deposited in the unexistent fund. The watchdog has been aggressive towards crypto in the past few years and added the following reminder to Polish citizens: "We would like to remind you that the cryptocurrency market in Poland is not a regulated or supervised market.

Bitcoin Scammers Rebrand Jon Prosser’s YouTube Channel as ‘NASA’

YouTube took down Jon Prosser’s channel with 262K subscribers after hackers used it to promote a free Bitcoin giveaway scam. Scammers have conned more YouTube viewers into sending them Bitcoin after hacking several more large verified accounts and posting ‘free giveaway’ videos. According to an Aug.

DLT Passport, Scammers Preying on Retirement Funds + More News

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news. Blockchain and DLT news ShareRing, an enterprise-ready platform using distributed ledger technology, has launched the first private contact-tracing passport that can be integrated with e-visa on arrival systems

Deceived Crypto Investors Launched Their Own Scam to Recoup Losses

Investors in China launched a crypto scam after being deceived themselves — and got busted by the police. Chinese police have reportedly arrested a group of scammers who launched a faux crypto scheme to recoup their losses after being defrauded by a number of different crypto-related cons themselves. According to an article from the Public Information Network Security Supervision Bureau posted on WeChat earlier today, an investor named Yang created a fake investment scheme after losing around 100,000 yuan (over $14,000) to a crypto MLM project.  After teaming up with two other investors who had similarly been deceived by crypto scammers, Yang launched a fake mobile app and a token called "Baiye Chain".

Scammers Are Forging CoinDesk Emails – Here’s How to Protect Yourself

Scammers are forging CoinDesk newsletters in phishing emails.

Crypto Scammers Turn Toward Terrorism With A Japanese Bomb Threat

A government building in Hokkaido received a bomb threat from a group of crypto terrorists. Crypto terrorists threatened to bomb a government office on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Almost 1 Million Bitcoin is Held by Darknet Markets, Scammers & Thieves

According to Chainalysis, almost one million Bitcoin is held by Dark Web markets and cybercriminals, with crypto exchanges playing a pivotal role in the space. According to Chainalysis, almost one million Bitcoin (BTC) is held by illicit actors in the space with over half being held by darknet markets. Bitcoin held by illicit entities.

Bitcoin Giveaway Scam Hits Popular Indian Youtuber

A popular Indian YouTuber’s gaming channel got hacked and scammers attempted to use the old Bitcoin giveaway trick to lure people. Ajey Nagar, a Popular Indian YouTuber with 6.7 million subscribers, is the latest victim of the ongoing BitCoin giveaway scam on Youtube. The hack happened on Nagar’s second Youtube channel- CarryisLive where he streams himself playing video games with YouTubers and celebrities.   Two Bitcoin giveaway scam promotional videos were reportedly posted on the channel.

Crypto Folk Show the World How to Outfox Twitter, SIM Swap Scammers

A prominent bitcoin (BTC) enthusiast said he outmaneuvered a Twitter scammer – and although he spent USD 100 in the process, he said he has unveiled some key scamming tactics common on the social media platform.

Crypto Scammers Steal $381 Million in 2020, While Twitter Hackers Direct Funds to Mixers

Cryptocurrency related scams have taken a total of $381 million from victims so far this year.

Crypto Scammer on the Prowl as YouTube and Twitter Become Central to Bitcoin Scams

Bitcoin giveaway scammers are getting away with Bitcoin. Over the years, it has become a known fact for anyone dealing with cryptocurrencies that scams are running rampant.

Here’s How to Check If a Bitcoin Address Is a Scam

With the rapid rise in the number of bitcoin scams, there are easy ways to check if a bitcoin address has been reported as being used by scammers, such as in fake bitcoin giveaways.

YouTube: We’re Not Liable for Crypto Scams

Lawyers for the video-sharing platform argue that because Ripple impersonators were third-parties it has no liability. YouTube’s legal team has argued the platform is immune from liability for cryptocurrency scams perpetrated as part of its video content or descriptions.  Attorneys for Ripple and CEO Brad Garlinghouse filed a lawsuit against YouTube in April in response to the platform’s failure to stop XRP scammers and impersonators.

Telecom Argentina S.A Hit by Major Ransomware Attack, Criminals Demand $7.5M Worth of Monero

Telecom Argentina S.A has been hit by a ransomware attack and the cyber-criminals are demanding $7.5 million paid in the privacy coin monero.

Don’t Fall for These Fake Chinese CBDC Scams

Scammers promise high yields for people who allocate their money in a fake CBDC-related investment scheme. Cities in China will soon begin testing a new Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC.

TRON Founder Justin Sun Offers Bounty Reward for Twitter Bitcoin Scammers

As distressed Twitter users scrambled to get a sense of the recent Bitcoin attack that happened earlier this week, TRON founder Justin Sun spoke up and offered a $1 million bounty reward for whoever was able to uncover the identities of those behind the Twitter mass hack.

Twitter Massive Hack Attack Traced Back to Crypto Wallet Using BitPay and Coinbase

In the massive Bitcoin scheme that happened earlier this week, reputed coin exchanges such as Binance, Gemini, and Coinbase were targeted by crypto scammers, and officials have been hard at work investigating the digital trail that may lead back to the crypto scammers.

Twitter Hack: ‘Social Engineering Attack’ on Employee Admin Panels

Hackers were able to get away with posting fake Bitcoin giveaways on various Twitter accounts thanks to high level internal admin access. Crypto scammers responsible for what could be the largest ever hack on Twitter were able to succeed because individual employees have high levels of access to information and control on the platform. In a series of tweets from Twitter Support on July 15, the help center of the social media platform confirmed that hackers responsible for the massive breach of high-profile figures’ accounts had conducted a “coordinated social engineering attack” to gain “access to internal systems and tools.” “We know they used this access to take control of many highly-visible (including verified) accounts and Tweet on their behalf,” Twitter Support said.

Crypto Scams Reach New Heights in 2020 With $24M Stolen So Far

Whale Alert alleges that crypto scams are skyrocketing in 2020 compared to statistics from 2017. Blockchain tracking and analytics platform, Whale Alert, revealed that over the past four years, scammers have stolen over $38 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC). New heights could be reached at the end of 2020 Whale Alert’s study, which relies on data from the crypto scam tracking site, Scam Alert, suggests that the popularity of dozens of different types of scams have been on the rise.

Youtube Helps Scammers Steal $130,000 in Bitcoin From Investors Daily: Report

Scammers raked-in $24 million in bitcoin during the first six months of 2020, according to a new report from crypto monitoring service Whale Alert.