Scammers recently delivered messages to various targets threatening to detonate explosive devices carried by an unidentified "mercenary" unless the targets paid a $20,000 ransom to a bitcoin wallet by the end of the business day. The sender(s) targeted individuals in geographically dispersed English-speaking countries, such as the U.S., Canada and New Zealand. Authorities in these jurisdictions have reported that no explosives were actually found.
In addition to so-called crypto-ransomware, another emerging threat are bitcoin ATMs (BTMs), which according to a recent report are spreading quickly and may pose high risks of money laundering. Perhaps the most pervasive current threat is crypto-mining malware, which, according to a new Threats Report from McAfee Labs, has increased 4,000 percent over the past year.
Financial regulators in France and Belgium have sought to minimize the impact of cryptocurrency fraud on investors, each blacklisting a number of crypto-related investment websites this week and warning against unauthorized or fraudulent ICOs. The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority announcement contained a blunt warning to investors.
"The principle remains the same: they offer you an investment they claim is secure, easy and very lucrative. They try to inspire confidence by assuring you that you don't need to be an expert in cryptocurrencies in order to invest in them. They claim to have specialists who will manage your investments for you. You are told that your funds can be withdrawn at any time or that they are guaranteed. In the end, the result is always the same: the victims find themselves unable to recover their money!" (Emphasis in the original)
Greece's high court issued a ruling this week affirming a lower court's decision to extradite to France Alexander Vinnik, who is accused of laundering up to $4 billion through the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e. Russia has also sought Vinnik's extradition. Vinnik's legal representatives have expressed the belief that his extradition to France will result in his eventual extradition to the United States to face charges of fraud, identity theft, money laundering and a number of other crimes related to his alleged operation of the BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange.
For more information, please check out the following links:
- Spammed Bomb Threat Hoax Demands Bitcoin
- Bitcoin scammers send bomb threats worldwide, causing evacuations
- Bitcoin ATMs: Even as Bitcoin crashes, these machines are spreading—and they're perfect vehicles for cleaning dirty cash.
- McAfee: Crypto-Mining Malware Grew By Over 4,000 Percent in 2018
- French Financial Regulator Blacklists Four Crypto Websites for Unauthorized Offerings
- CRYPTOCURRENCY FRAUD: THE FSMA UPDATES ITS LIST OF SUSPICIOUS SITES
- Belgium's Financial Watchdog Updates Crypto Scam Blacklist to Total 113 Sites
- Greek Supreme Court Rules in Support of Extraditing Alleged Bitcoin Launderer Vinnik to France
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