Cryptocrime Digest (19 October 2020)
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Our Top 5 Articles From the Week
Electrum Wallet Phishing Attackers Steal USD 22M in Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) thieves are amassing a fortune in stolen crypto funds — using a devious Electrum wallet exploit that allegedly tricked one user out of a staggering BTC 1,400 (USD 16.1m). Per a report from ZDNet, criminals have developed an “attack pattern that has been reused in multiple campaigns over the past two years,” amassing a total of USD 22m. [Cryptonews.com]
Cybercrime Money-Launders Busted by European Police, FBI
European and American officials said Thursday that they have arrested 20 people in several countries for allegedly belonging to an international ring that laundered millions of euros stolen by cybercriminals through malware schemes. The international police operation “2BaGoldMule” led by Portuguese investigators and the FBI included 14 more European countries, under the umbrella of Europol. Europol said that more than 40 homes were searched by agents in Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, and Latvia in the operation.[Associated Press]
Tether Stablecoin Used by Drug Cartel Money Smugglers, DOJ Claims
The United States Department of Justice yesterday unsealed documents about a Latin American drug-smuggling, money-laundering bust, in part facilitated by the US dollar-pegged stablecoin, Tether. Six were arrested, five of them born in China and living in Latin America or the US; one lived in Hong Kong. [Decrypt]
Major P2P Crypto Platform Localbitcoins Is Blocked in Russia
LocalBitcoins, a major peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange, is no longer available in Russia without using additional tools like a VPN. LocalBitcoins.net is officially blacklisted in Russia as local telecom regulator Roskomnadzor placed the URL on a register of platforms disseminating prohibited information. According to official data, the website was blacklisted on July 21, following an order of the Onezhsky City Court of the Arkhangelsk region. [Coin Telegraph]
Crypto Crime Cartel: How Roger Ver Led BCH Tried to Corrupt Bitcoin
While this Crypto Crime Cartel is far-reaching, the BCH network is becoming a regular feature in the emerging criminal scandals. Perhaps more than the other criminals we have been reporting on, the BCH cartel, led by Roger Ver, has driven a relentless effort to corrupt Bitcoin and pass off their own bastardized imitations as the real implementation of the Bitcoin whitepaper. [Coin Geek]
Merkle Science News
Upcoming Event Alert! Stories Behind Crypto Hacks: Why Hackers Get Caught
Join our CEO, Mriganka Pattnaik, on Crypto Curry Live! chat on October 28 from 04:00 to 05:00 PM BST. The event is focused on the stories behind the biggest crypto hacks, and what the hackers did wrong that led to them getting caught.
Merkle Science Joins OpenVASP Association to Support Implementation of FATF Travel Rule
Merkle Science, a leading provider of blockchain transaction monitoring and intelligence solutions, has joined the OpenVASP Association as a member. OpenVASP is a non-profit organization with an aim to support the development and usage of the OpenVASP protocol for compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Travel Rule for virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
About Merkle Science
Merkle Science provides blockchain transaction monitoring and intelligence solutions for cryptoasset service providers, financial institutions and government agencies to detect, investigate and prevent the use of cryptocurrency for money laundering, terrorist financing, and other criminal activities. Merkle Science is headquartered in Singapore with offices in Bangalore, Seoul, and Tokyo and backed by Digital Currency Group, Kenetic, SGInnovate, and LuneX.
