Tag Archives: crypto scams

Brazil’s Federal Police reportedly halted the operations of a criminal gang led by the businessman Francisco Valdevino da Silva, a.k.a “Bitcoin Sheikh.” The authorities claimed that the wrongdoers defrauded thousands of people in the past few years and laundered up to 4 billion Brazilian reals ($766 million). Another Crypto Ponzi Scheme in Brazil GloboNews revealed that Brazilian law enforcement agents raided the address of da Silva and many of his partners on suspicion that...

The multinational financial services company – Mastercard – released a new product called “Crypto Secure.” Its main purpose is to assist banks in preventing fraudulent cases associated with digital assets. Over the past few years, Mastercard has displayed itself as a crypto-orientated company, while some of its executives are keen proponents of the industry. The Next Step The payment services giant doubled down on its cryptocurrency efforts by launching a feature that could...

The region of Queensland in Australia has, as of late, been a hub for crypto fraud and related scams, and it looks like residents have lost close to $40 million at the time of writing. This is a huge uptick from the number reported just last year during this time, which was around $20 million. Australia and Crypto… Not the Greatest Match? Throughout Australia, as much as $263 million has been lost to crypto scams. Federal police in Australia now refer to the growing...

The Delaware Department of Justice’s Investor Protection Unit halted the operations of 23 entities and individuals involved in cryptocurrency romance frauds, known as “pig butchering” scams. A recent analysis conducted by Bankless Times estimated that Americans lost around $185 million between January 2021 and March 2022 due to such schemes. Crypto Scammers Again in the Spotlight The latest destination where crypto romance fraudsters chose to con people is the eastern US...

Law enforcement agents from Hengyang (a city in the southern Chinese province Hunan) have reportedly busted a criminal group that employed cryptocurrencies to launder 40 billion yuan (approximately $5.6 billion). Over the past several months, China’s authorities halted numerous similar schemes, arresting thousands of people. The ‘Hundred-day Action’ According to a local coverage, the Chinese police arrested 93 individuals in the city of Hengyang on suspicion of laundering...

Hackers have reportedly attacked several big-name South Korean YouTube channels in the past few months. After gaining access, most wrongdoers used the platform to upload cryptocurrency-related videos. Among the victims was the official YouTube channel of the South Korean government. Earlier this month, a group of cybercriminals compromised it so they could promote a crypto scam featuring Elon Musk’s image. South Korean Users Should Stay Alerted A recent coverage revealed that...

Aiden Pleterski – a 23-year-old Canadian trader and self-described “Crypto King” – is being sued after allegedly failing to return at least $35 million to his investors.  Authorities have already seized $2 million in assets from the Ontarian, including two McLarens, two BMWs, and a Lamborghini. Crypto Trader, or Fraudster? Pleterski ran a business called AP Private Equity Limited, through which he promised to generate high returns for investors through well-timed crypto and...

The Securities and Exchange Commission launched a lawsuit again two advisory companies and their owner for running a Ponzi-like cryptocurrency scheme. The firms operated for over four years and manage to raise nearly $4.4 million. The lawsuit is against Creative Advancement LLC and Edelman Blockchain Advisors LLC as well as their owner – Gabriel Edelman. The allegations claim that Edelman, through his companies, “fraudulently offered and sold securities, using false,...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) of the United States created a unit consisting of over 150 federal prosecutors whose goal will be to combat cryptocurrency-related criminal activities. In addition, the government plans to introduce a set of regulatory frameworks that should aid the development of the local digital asset sector. Earlier this year, the DOJ established another division, called “National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team” and appointed cybersecurity prosecutor – Eun...

Joshua David Nicholas – a resident of Florida – pleaded guilty that he and other members of the cryptocurrency platform EmpiresX skimmed investors with $100 million worth of digital assets. He now faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in Federal prison. Last month, the US authorities brought to justice another criminal crew from the Florida region. The Miami citizens – Esteban Cabrera Da Corte, Luis Hernandez Gonzalez, and Asdrubal Ramirez Meza – might spend up to 30...