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How Brazil’s Bitcoin Pyramid scheme Kingpin made his way to the top

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Brazil’s Cabo Frio is dubbed as the ‘New Egypt’ for its various Pyramid schemes operating in the town along with its ringleader Glaidson Acácio dos Santos who is referred to as the Bitcoin Pharoah. Dos Santos as per police sources began trading in Bitcoin after leaving his job as a waiter in 2014. A part-time evangelical preacher in training, he recruited clients from Churches earning a referral fee for bringing in fresh recruits.

By 2017, the accused was earning a lot of money which attracted the authorities’ attention. In the same year, his firm which goes by the name of GAS consulting and technology’s total transactions amounted to 10 million reais [$1.8 million], 15 times more than the previous year. The country’s financial intelligence unit also noticed the firm which was registered as a restaurant regularly traded cryptocurrency on online exchange platforms.

Things finally came to an end when in April 2021, Brazil’s federal police caught red-handed two men and a woman loading a chopper with $1.3 million in neatly packed bills. Police sources said that the fraud firm owned by 38-year-old dos Santos had total transactions worth nearly $7 billion from 2015 through mid-2021 as part of a Bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme that promised investors 10% monthly returns.

As for Santos, he is currently lodged in a Rio jail awaiting trial on charges that includes racketeering, financial crimes, and ordering the killings and attempted murder of two business competitors.

Brazil’s crypto obsession turned fatal

The case reflects the growing appetite for cryptocurrencies in Brazil, where years of economic and political upheaval have made digital currencies an attractive cover against the depreciation of the Brazilian Real and double-digit inflation.

The craze for digital assets especially peaked in Cabo Frio, the seaside town of 230,000 where the office of the kingpin was located. As G.A.S. revenues surged, many copycat firms sprang up, hoping to reap the benefits. Soon a wave of cryptocurrency-related violence followed leading to several murders.

Experts feel that Brazil’s lenient laws regulating cryptocurrency helped fuel the rise of dos Santos. Additionally, Brazil’s securities regulator was making digital currencies more attractive. In fact, in 2018 it authorized the country’s investment funds to invest in cryptocurrencies, giving further credibility.

Indian PM’s Twitter handle hacked with a fake Bitcoin giveaway scam!

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On December 12, in the wee hours of the morning, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official Twitter account displayed a post declaring the nation had formally adopted Bitcoin [BTC] as a legal tender, and that the administration had purchased 500 BTC to “distribute” to its citizens. The tweet also had a link to a blog, which read, “The future has come today”.

About an hour later, another Tweet emerged from the official handle of the Prime Minister’s Office [PMO] clarifying that the PM’s Twitter account was restored after it was “very briefly compromised” and that the incident had been raised with the social networking firm.

However, Twitter did not specify the exact time at which Modi’s account was breached and when they were notified about the matter. In addition to that, there was no response with regards to the time taken to bring down the fake post, and if the social platform deploys any extra level of security standards for major public accounts such as those of political leaders, governments heads, and others.

In the meantime, sources at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology [MoE&IT] revealed that the Indian Computer Emergency Response System (Cert-In) would be launching a “full-scale investigation headed by a senior official” and will submit its report to the government agency shortly.

India’s tryst with fake bitcoin scams

The latest news comes after the incident where the Twitter account belonging to the Prime Minister’s personal website and app had sent out Tweets asking for donations for the Prime Minister’s Covid relief fund through cryptocurrency, back in September 2020.

A similar mass breach took place in July last year, when the social accounts of several leading personalities such as former president of the US Barack Obama, present president of the US Joe Biden, singer and rapper Kanye West, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Tesla chief Elon Musk put out the same tweets asking people to deposit bitcoins on dubious links, promising double returns.

Even though several of these tweets were taken down, some of the accounts that were then compromised sent out these tweets again after some time, which indicates the severity of the attacks. Following the large-scale breach, Twitter said that ‘several of its employees who had access to internal systems had their accounts compromised in a coordinated social engineering attack, which resulted in the hack’.

CFTC Charges 4 Men For Making Nearly $1 Million Via Bitcoin Scam

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Almost every technological or financial innovation is manipulated by scammers and hackers to make money easy. Every day, news of the scams or authorities busting these fraudsters surfaces in the crypto-verse. A prominent financial regulator charging four men for a recent crypto scam in the United States is the latest buzz in the crypto town.

Scammers Bag Nearly $1 Million

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission [CFTC] shared a press release highlighting its latest release. The financial regulator claimed that three men from Texas, Mayco Alexis Maldonado Garcia, Cesar Castaneda, and Rodrigo Jose Castro Molina, as well as Florida’s Joel Castaneda Garcia, were operating a fraudulent platform called the Global Trading Club [GTC]. CFTC has reportedly filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas.

All four men involved were charged for deceiving individuals to pour in money to speculate on the price movements of Bitcoin. The complaint underscored that a total of 27 people were prey to the scam and the alleged scammers were reported to have acquired about $989,000. The CFTC accusation also pointed out that the fraudulent operation ran a little more than a year from August 2016 to October 2017.

The press release further stated,

“[…] the defendants falsely represented to actual and potential customers that their business, named Global Trading Club (GTC), employed “master traders” who had years of experience trading “crypto currency,” and used “cutting edge trading robots” to trade Bitcoin for customers “24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

Apart from this, a multi-level marketing scheme was put in place where the customers were promised a bonus for referring others. Furthermore, in an attempt to cover up their fraudulent business, the alleged fraudsters went on to post misleading statements online.

The CFTC added,

“The CFTC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent registration and trading bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and the Commission’s regulations, as charged.”

Despite being known for its decentralized nature, cryptocurrencies fall under the control of regulators around the globe. While authorities and regulators around the globe have been exploring the prospects for cryptocurrencies, news about crypto hacks could delay the mass adoption of crypto hacks.

Bitcoin Trader Robbed of More Than $350,000 Gets Justice as Main Accused Gets Charged in Singapore

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Ever since the inception of the cryptocurrency industry, it has witnessed several cases of scams and fraudulent activities. Sometimes these events tend to go overboard in the physical world as well.

This week, a court in Singapore adjudged that the last member of a three-member gang who stole thousands of dollars from a Bitcoin trader was guilty. Jaromel Gee Ming Li was sentenced by the court to three years in jail as well as twelve strokes of the cane as part of his punishment. 

Ming Li and his cohort included Mohd Abdul Rahman Mohamad and Syed Mokhtar Syed Yusope and were involved in attacking a Bitcoin trader back in 2018. Abdul Rahman is yet to go on trial for his crimes while Syed Yusope has already pleaded guilty to robbery. According to sources, Abdul Rahman and Ming Li would act as third parties in a bid to lure cryptocurrency investors into their trap.

In these instances, buyers would approach them with a lot of money looking to make a massive profit by trading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. During the event in question, the three parties decided not to transfer the cryptocurrencies even if the buyer provides them with the capital. The victim, Pang Joon Hau had traveled from Malaysia to Singapore to conduct cryptocurrency trades where he fell prey to Ming Li’s scam.

Mr. Joon Hau had a total of $365,000 with him that he planned to convert to cryptocurrencies. When Ming Li found out about this plan, he quickly informed both Abdul Rahman and Mokhtar who arrived at the hotel at night to execute the plan. During a meeting between Mr. Pang and a Bitcoin broker, Mokhtar interfered and attacked Mr. Pang for his money. Both Abdul and Mokhtar made off with the money but their happiness was shortlived as Abdul was arrested just two days later.

Kin of the accused was also brought in to establish proof with Abdul Rahman’s ex-wife also pleading guilty for receiving contraband from him. This turned out to be the final nail in the coffin as it started the snowball effect of arrests. Abdul’s ex-wife was also sentenced to 9 weeks in jail starting from mid-October. The final conclusion of the case will only be revealed at the end of the last arrest with many members of the cryptocurrency community wondering how harsh the penalty would be.

Famous Indian Youtuber Ajey Nagar Becomes the Latest Victim of Fake YouTube Bitcoin Giveaway Scam

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Cryptocurrency giveaway scams that impersonate famous celebrities have been making the rounds for many years now. The latest victim of cybercriminals is a well-known Indian YouTuber, Ajey Nagar, where his gaming channel has been compromised to lure victims using a fake Bitcoin giveaway scam. The YouTuber is well known for streaming live video games with other YouTubers as well as influential personalities on the site. According to reports, Ajey’s second YouTube channel, Carrislive, was targeted explicitly by cyber criminals for their fraudulent purposes.

The hack occurred in the wee hours on Saturday, July 25, where the hackers asked for donations in the form of Bitcoins to help out Asam and Bishar. It was later proved to be a front to defraud the many unsuspecting users of their cryptocurrency on the popular video streaming site. 

Ajar’s response to the fake YouTube Bitcoin giveaway scam

On July 25, Ajar, through his official Twitter handle, confirmed reports of the hack to his YouTube channel subscribers. He further asked for assistance to resolve the issue where the cybercriminals posted two promotional videos with each one of them containing different Bitcoin addresses attached to them. In one of the said videos, the fraudsters posted pictures of SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, apparently handing out Bitcoins. The scammers intended to promote the videos, to lure unsuspecting victims into sending their BTC, with the promise of doubling the amount. 

Nevertheless, Ajar has confirmed that he has regained control of his account and that operations are back to normal. In addition, he claimed that he did not know the culprits involved in the fake Bitcoin scam and why they target him. However, he thanked YouTube for their quick response to the issue at hand.

 

Cryptocurrency scams on YouTube on the rise

Of late Bitcoin, scams have been on the rise on the popular video streaming platform. This is not the first reported case of cyberjacking involving influential personalities. Public figures such as Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak have all fallen victims to impersonation involving fake Bitcoin giveaways. Meanwhile, YouTube’s legal team has insisted that the site is well protected from the fraudsters in the event of scams done online through video content and descriptions.

Youtube Refutes Ripple Inc Claims of Perpetrating Cryptocurrency Scams

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Youtube video sharing platform was under pressure from a lawsuit filed by Ripple in April 2020 blaming it for supporting crypto scams. Youtube responded to the April lawsuit citing the site failed to stop XRP scammers and impersonators from doing so.

According to today ‘s report, Law 360, the legal team representing Youtube referred to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act during a dismissal bid; claimed that the publisher was not liable for any information provided on the platform by a third party. In that case, Garlinghouse accused the video-sharing platform of benefiting crypto scammers from Paid Advertisements.YouTube said that it is not Youtube ‘s fault for cryptocurrency scammers using its platform

The lawyers argued that it was completely unwise to accuse the video publisher of content that it had not created. In addition, Youtube’s verification of the scam channels did not in any way change the fact that the channels were the product of third parties.

Since the video-sharing platform did not solicit, encourage or participate in third party video scams, Ripple had no reason to back the accusation.

Youtube Scams Include Identity Theft, Impersonation and Phishing

A Forbes post on Youtube scams indicated that much of the scamming on the platform involved phishing the credit card, promising traffic spikes, identity theft and impersonation. Ripple ‘s lawsuit provided Ripple Executive Brad Garlinghouse had been impersonated by at least 305 youtube channels.

The lawsuit argued how the fraudsters took over entirely unrelated but verified channels, modified the branding, content and layout to make it look more like a legitimate crypto-currency giveaway.

Cryptocurrency scammers on Youtube not only impersonated the CEO of Ripple but also a variety of key figures in the fintech industry, according to the lawsuit’s filings. With that they could scam hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Nevertheless, the legal team of Youtube argued that the right to publicity law protected the names, voices or images of individuals from being used for any commercial gain; without the owners’ prior permission.

Conclusion

Recently, a twitter hack staged the famous “ double your money”;  through twitter profiles of influential leaders such as Barack Obama, Elon Musk and Bill Gates. Social media platforms and blockchain projects are at the onset of a cyber criminal bubble, and most of them are taking initiative to protect users from fraud and identity theft. 

Bitcoin: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Joe Biden; No one survived the recent BTC hack!

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Bitcoin scams and hacks have been extremely common over the last few years, but the recent conundrum on Twitter may have been the most memorable one in recent years.

Surrounding a cryptocurrency scam, an unidentified hacker found his way into several high-profile Twitter accounts and asked for BTC donations on social media platforms.

From Apple to Uber, from Kanye West to Barack Obama, everyone’s profile was intertwined, and a common tweet shared across everyone’s handle echoed a BTC donations message.

“I am giving back to the community. All Bitcoin sent to the address below will be sent back doubled! If you send $1000, I will send back $2000. Only doing this for 30 minutes.”

BTC donation
Source: Instagram

Following the incredible mess, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey made an online statement stating the organization’s regrets about the situation. The CEO said the company felt “terrible this happened.”

Dmitry Alperovitch, the co-founder of Crowd Strike, informed media outlets that the above-mentioned hack could possibly be the “worst witness” on a major social media platform in history.

Hacker possibly made $120,000 in Bitcoins; unconfirmed

Although unconfirmed, Business Insider suggested that data from available blockchain records suggested that a hacker might make up close to $120,000 over the short scam period.

The hack was identified within hours, but hundreds of people took the bait on the platform and one particular wallet address reported receiving more than 350 transactions.

Ironically, the functionality of Bitcoin may make it difficult to properly identify the exact amount that the hack was able to collect during the scam.

Tron’s Justin Sun announces $1 million bounty following hack

The attention received by the scam was widespread and crypto proponents were taking centre stage as well. Justin Sun, Founder of TRON, released a bounty of $1 million for the capture of the hacker as he revealed that his team was working closely with Twitter on the issue. He informed outlets,

“We are working closely with Twitter to resolve this issue immediately and return our accounts to normal. We are always vigilant in handling our accounts; operating safely and responsibly — taking the security of our accounts to the highest standards possible. This only further illuminates the urgent need for our society to adopt decentralized, trustless software, and services.”

Whale Alert Report: Crypto Scammers Revenue to Spike by 2000% Before 2020 Ends

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According to a new report by the cryptocurrency intelligence firm, Whale Alert, scammers stole $24 million in bitcoin during the first half of 2020. Online scammers find it too easy to mislead their crypto investors because their tactics are incredibly adept and aggressive, according to a report published on July 10.

For instance, a specific highly successful crypto scam has raked up more than $130,000 a day ‘with nothing more than a one-page website, a bitcoin address, and a decent amount of YouTube advertising.’ While another scheme has earned more than $1.5 million in six months by luring investors into a sham crypto exchange using an unprofessional website perforated with spelling mistakes.

Scammer revenue to spike by 2000 percent by end of the year

Whale Alert suggests that it has gathered and assessed “hundreds of thousands” of data from websites, bitcoin addresses, and reports using Scam Alert, a new tool for reporting, monitoring, and analyzing blockchain crimes. Whale Alert, famous for tracking large-scale BTC transactions, discovered that “crypto crime pays a lot.” Crypto crimes are significantly motivated by the fact that the venture is risk-free, which means that the perpetrators have a very high chance of getting away with the crime.

Indeed, the report claims that fraudsters have got away with $38 million worth of bitcoins over the last four years, omitting Ponzi schemes. Whale Alert projects scammers’ annual revenues may rise by 2,000 percent since 2017, reaching $50 million annually.

Giveaway scams are more popular according to Whale Alert Report

There are different types of swindling strategies, including sextortion, sham exchanges, video scams, and bitcoin recovery schemes. However, according to the Whale Alert, the most popular type of extortion is a giveaway strategy. Giveaway scams tend to impersonate public figures such as SpaceX and Tesla’s Elon Musk, or a prominent crypto exchange for convincing individuals to send their bitcoins using YouTube advertising.

As per Whale Alert, such fraudulent schemes can rake from a few thousand dollars to $300,000, subject to the strategy employed and the scam ‘s efforts. Notably, the report also warned that the revamped approach suggests that “entire professional teams” may be involved in some of the most fortunate crypto scams.

 

South African Crypto Investors Lose Millions as Former CEO Declared Bankrupt

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Willie Breedt, CEO of Vaultage Solutions, has been declared bankrupt while 2000 investors are expected to lose around R227 million, according to a News 24 report.

Vaultage solutions founded in 2018 welcomed the investment with the promise of weekly investment returns via cryptocurrency mining and trading. Breedt allegedly missed repaying investments, however, and never eventuated the development he had guaranteed to investors.

One of the biggest investors, Simon Dix of Hilton, who handed over R7.5 million to Breedt, successfully applied for a sequestration order against Breedt on Friday. The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria released a sequestration order on Friday. The sequestration order is issued by the Federal Court or the Federal Circuit Court, which decides that an individual is bankrupt. Once a sequestration order is received, the bankrupt ‘s assets are handed over to be managed by a bankruptcy trustee appointee.

Willie Breedt is also accused of going on the run after a few angry investors went on a manhunt, allegedly led by a colonel in the South African National Defense Force. The aim of the manhunt was to find Breedt and possibly recover some of the funds from him for ‘debt collectors.’ But Breedit had opened a case of intimidation with police in Jeffreys Bay before going on the run.

Investigators managed to find Breedt at a guesthouse in Pretoria and soon after the court issued Dix the sequestration order, the court sheriff accompanied by officers, raided the house where Breedt had been hiding, according to News 24’s report.

Numerous electronic devices have been seized on the raid, including a laptop and Ledger Nano hardware wallet, with police hoping to find details on where the bitcoin, as well as other currencies, could be hidden.

Fraudulent PlayStation 5 Reveal Raises $13,000 in Fake Bitcoin Giveaway

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A fraudulent PlayStation 5 revealing event on YouTube ran a fake Bitcoin giveaway, stealing over $13,000 in Bitcoin before it was brought down. A fake “PlayStation Live” YouTube channel hosted the fake live-stream and promised viewers in Bitcoin up to 5,000, if they first sent their Bitcoins.

Fake Bitcoin scams have been common in social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook , and YouTube for a long time. It is surprising that these classic scams are still working today. Just recently, TWJ reported about scammers who have adopted the same strategy to imitate Elon Musk’s SpaceX to steal bitcoin from unsuspecting victims.

“To participate you just need to send 0.1 BTC to 20 BTC to the contribution address and we will immediately send you back 0.2 BTC to 40 BTC to the address you sent it from,” claimed the fraudulent PlayStation launch.

Fraudulent PlayStation 5 reveal promised to double victim’s funds

The fake ‘PlayStation 5 Live’ YouTube channel used a pre-recording of the eagerly awaited launch of PlayStation 5 that was 10 hours old. In addition, the fraudulent live-stream had gained over 100,000 viewers in the two hours it was up. Besides, it was among the top six most searched videos in the search results for “p5 Reveal Trailers” on YouTube, while the hosting channel had more than 200,000 subscribers.

Based on the number of subscribers the channel had, it is possible the scammers hijacked a legitimate YouTube account at the last minute through hacking or a phishing attack. Additionally, it is likely the scammers had been amassing an audience for a long time to peddle their ill motives. The YouTube channel is still operational; however, it has no videos after the fake live-stream was taken down.

Scammers used personalized Bitcoin address

The fraudsters had one ploy in their war chest; they personalized the receiving Bitcoin address to start with 1Sony. “Bitcoin addresses are known to involve random alphanumeric digits, unlike those used by the fraudsters.

Customizing your BTC address is not simple since you have to create blockchain addresses until you get the one you want. Alternatively, you can also purchase one from someone who has already done a job for you.