How Kraken caught a scammer?
A call-center scammer impersonating President Joe Biden attempted to steal what they thought was $450,000 worth of Bitcoin from a streamer — instead, chaos ensued.
First of all, I want to say that cryptocurrency exchange fraud is growing rapidly, and platforms are coming up with new ways to combat it. The Kraken cryptocurrency exchange is no exception. To fight scammers, the exchange has partnered with internet personality Kitboga, who creates fake accounts to lure in and expose fraudsters.
In a tweet, Kitboga announced that he would be creating an “custom environment” to identify scammers. The collaboration took an interesting turn when Kitboga, disguised as an elderly woman, encountered a scammer pretending to be Joe Biden. Armed with a fake account containing $450,000 worth of BTC, Kitboga tempted the fraudster.
Kitboga then pretended to make a mistake while typing the scammer’s wallet address, resulting in the funds being sent to the wrong address. Furious with the turn of events, the scammer went on a rant filled with profanity, completely unaware that the scam had been foiled. The scammer had provided a BTC wallet address that was hosted on Kraken, not realizing that the platform had already identified and marked his account.
In a recent video on May 1, Kitboga shed light on a new Bitcoin-related scam that targets victims through email or text messages. The scammers claim that unauthorized purchases have been made with the victims’ bank accounts and proceed to convince them that their identities have been stolen.
Then they instruct the victims to withdraw their cash, purchase BTC, and send the funds to a “secure government wallet.” Kitboga cleverly played along with the scammers, pretending to have his “grandson” buy 10,000 BTC and deliberately sending the funds to the wrong address, thereby outwitting the scammers once again.
This case is just another example of how platforms are genuinely trying to protect users from losing their funds. Kitboga sheds light on new scams on his YouTube channel. Using his own methods to identify scammers, the blogger demonstrates it is always necessary to be cautious with users who offer “free cheese in a mousetrap.”
I would also like to tell you about some platforms that are working to combat fraud, including by collaborating with law enforcement, blocking accounts linked to scammers from interacting with their platforms, and informing their users about threats. However, they note that ultimately, customers bear the burden of protecting themselves.
“It is the user’s responsibility to verify the legitimacy of any investment they are making off our platform,” Coinbase spokeswoman Lisa Johnson said in an email. “While Coinbase has a number of techniques to identify and block illicit addresses associated with fraud and other criminal activity, it is impossible to anticipate all addresses operated by external bad actors.”
Crypto.com recently added a tool Inca Digital developed to detect scams in near-real time, to alert potential victims before they invest heavily. Company spokesperson Victoria Davis said the exchange takes other steps to protect users, including daily updates of blacklisted accounts.
The platform — on which pig-butchering victims lost nearly $300 million over the last nine months of 2022, according to Inca data, the most of any of any exchange it examined — also stresses that its customers need to stay vigilant. “Security is a shared responsibility,” Davis said.
I also want to mention the largest crypto exchange, WhiteBIT, like many other crypto exchanges, takes measures to combat scammers and protect their users, including: KYC/AML procedures, 2FA, fraud detection systems, partnerships with law enforcement agencies, and educational resources. The exchange is dedicated to maintaining a secure and reliable platform and takes proactive steps to combat fraudulent activities and safeguard user assets.
In conclusion, the prevalence of cryptocurrency exchange fraud continues to grow, prompting crypto platforms to take action to protect their users. One such effort is the collaboration between Kraken and internet personality Kitboga, who create fake accounts to lure and expose scammers.
Kitboga’s recent encounters with scammers impersonating President Joe Biden and the use of Bitcoin-related email and text message scams shed light on the importance of being cautious with users who offer free incentives.
