Based on the origins of Scam Reports received by BitcoinWhosWho.com in 2020, bitcoin scams are the world’s other continuing pandemic.
BitcoinWhosWho received Scam Reports from 149 countries in 2020. 25 countries originated at least 100 reports.
Continue reading Bitcoin Scams are the World’s Other Continuing PandemicThe Top 25 Most Frequently Reported Bitcoin Scam Addresses to BitcoinWhosWho.com in 2020* received 9.5994793 total BTC.
Every single address is associated with the “sextortion” email scam first reported here in March 2018. There are many variations of the scam, but basically claims to have webcam footage of the email recipient visiting adult websites and demands payment in bitcoin or else the video will be sent to their contacts.
The average amount scammed was .092 BTC.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) fined the founder of cryptocurrency “mixers” Helix and Coin Ninja this week for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, an action that may signal more serious enforcement actions against bitcoin scams in the future.
Continue reading Treasury Department Cracking Down on Coin Mixers
If you have been caught up in this scam, you have a better than average chance of recovering funds.
The first “CRA scam” was reported to BitcoinWhosWho.com in August 2018. Since then, there have been dozens of reports of this particular tactic and it continues to fool a lot of people.
The most frequently reported CRA scam, aka “SIN scam”, bitcoin address has received 567BTC (as of Sept 9), worth almost CAD$8M.
Based on input transactions to this address alone, it appears to be scamming 2 or 3 people a day out of ~.33 BTC a pop.
The fraud starts with a caller ID spoofing Service Canada, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) or even sometimes reportedly the FBI. The caller claims there was fraudulent use of your Social Insurance Number (SIN) and only by visiting the closest crypto ATM and depositing BTC into their wallet (which they will conveniently text you a QR code for!) will they be able to “assist”. Don’t fall for it!
Continue reading Multi-Million Dollar Canadian Bitcoin Scam Using BinanceThe first “Elon Musk/Tesla” #Bitcoin scam reported to BitcoinWhosWho.com in June 2018 involved a hijacked high-profile verified Twitter account pretending to giveaway our beloved valuable crypto asset. Since then, the volume of Elon Musk (& Tesla) related bitcoin scams reported has increased dramatically, especially from Japan.
Almost 45% of Elon Musk/Tesla bitcoin scam reports come from Japan. 16% are unknown, 15% are US and the rest;
Continue reading The RISE OF Elon MUSK BITCOIN SCAMSThe first report of a Central Intelligence Agency officer sending ransom emails demanding bitcoin in exchange for concealing evidence of child porn was received March 16. Since then dozens of similar reports have come in, each demanding $10K USD payment to a different multi-sig address. As of this posting none of the reported addresses have received ransom payments.
Continue reading New CIA Child Porn Bitcoin Ransom EMAILHow successful has the bitcoin sextortion email campaign been?
The number of bitcoin ever to be mined may be capped at 21 million but the total supply will always be less. How much less is a critical valuation metric for bitcoin economists. There are a variety of ways and reasons bitcoin can be taken out of circulation. The purpose of this post is to examine one reason: “burn addresses”.
There will be winners and losers in the race to become the best bitcoin extortionist emailer. The latest bitcoin scam email campaign looks like it will be one of the losers.
Starting this morning, from U.S. sources, BitcoinWhosWho.com began receiving reports of a fake bomb threat demanding $20k in bitcoin or a “mercenary” would blow up their building. So far no one has paid any of the 15 bitcoin addresses that have been identified. But, it would only take a few people falling for this to make it worthwhile for the scammer.
The email typically states the bomb or explosive device is made of “lead azide”, “Tetryl” or “Hexogen” but also “tronitrotoluene” has been reported.
Notably, the author really wants to be clear that everything is proceeding “according to my guide”. Oh, and BTW, the bomb will go off by the end of the day if you don’t pay.
Continue reading Bitcoin Bomb Ransom Fizzled Out: No Payments Made By Deadline
The bitcoin “sextortion” scam is officially global. Bitcoin Who’s Who received reports of the now infamous email from people in 42 different countries in September.
Almost a third of the scam reports came from the United States. Continue reading 42 Countries Report Sextortion Email Scam
