Tag Archives: crypto scams

Chirag Tomar, a 31-year-old Indian citizen, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for orchestrating a cryptocurrency fraud scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims out of more than $20 million. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell handed down the sentence, which also included two years of supervised release. Scammers Imitate Coinbase to Steal Millions According to court documents, Tomar and his co-conspirators executed the fraud by “spoofing” a website designed to...

An 86-year-old former attorney, David Kagel, has been sentenced to five years of probation for organizing a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of nearly $15 million. The judgment, filed on October 8 in a Las Vegas federal court, also requires him to pay $14 million in restitution to his victims. $15M Crypto Ponzi Scheme U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro handed down the sentence following Kagel’s guilty plea to one count of conspiracy...

U.S. authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), have charged Gotbit and four other crypto firms with widespread market manipulation. The charges also roped in several individuals who worked for the offending organizations. Market Makers Accused of Running Wash Trading Scheme According to a statement the SEC issued on October 9, Gotbit, ZM Quant, CLS Global, and MyTrade MM...

Cardi B, took to her X account to promote a new meme coin named after her iconic track. However, there have been concerns surrounding the promotion, with security experts suggesting the account may have been compromised. Cardi B Shares $WAP Video The rapper, who has been in the news lately after claims emerged that she had undergone surgery, set off events with an October 7 post on X with a picture of her holding a cat. In the post, Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis...

WalletConnect has warned crypto users about a fake app previously available on the Google Play Store. In a September 29 post on X, the organization behind the open-source protocol that enables secure connections between crypto wallets and decentralized applications (dApps) said the offending app has since been removed from Google Play, but not before it reportedly stole more than $70,000 worth of crypto from unsuspecting users. Malicious App Targeted Mobile Users The issue...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released its cryptocurrency fraud report 2023, revealing that Americans lost an astonishing $5.6 billion due to crypto-related scams. This is an increase of 45% compared to the previous year. The report reveals that a tenth of all complaints reported to the FBI involved cryptocurrency-related scams. However, as highlighted above, these complaints contributed to nearly half of the overall losses. This has brought out...

The person behind 2023’s Euler Finance hack has congratulated the Penpie exploiter after the latter moved the bulk of the funds they stole to Tornado Cash. The Penpie thief transferred the money even as the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform pleaded for the funds to be returned in exchange for a bounty. The $27M Penpie Protocol Hack On Sep. 6, blockchain security company Peckshield made a post on X featuring the Euler Finance exploiter’s message to the Penpie protocol...

August marked a worrying time for the industry as cybercriminals ransacked hundreds of millions of dollars. With the number of hacks and scams rising tremendously this year, August marked another bad month in terms of the amounts lost to cybercriminals. August witnessed about $313 million scammed from crypto holders and platforms. Blockchain security firm PeckShield shone a light on this, stating, “August 2024 witnessed 10+ hacks in the crypto space, resulting in ~$313.86 million in losses....

The X account of French football star Kylian Mbappe was reportedly hacked on August 29, with the attackers posting multiple messages promoting a suspicious cryptocurrency named ‘$MBAPPE.’  The posts, which also included opinions on contentious topics such as the Israel-Palestine conflict, caught the attention of many, leading to significant financial losses for some. Investor Loses Over $1 Million According to data from analytics firm Lookonchain, an unwitting victim of the...

Australians have recently experienced significant losses due to cryptocurrency investment scams, with AU$180 million ($122 million) lost over the past 12 months. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) issued a warning on Wednesday, highlighting the growing sophistication and prevalence of these scams. These remarks were made during Scams Awareness Week 2024, which is designed to raise awareness of such schemes. According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), total investment scams...