The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a broad sanctions action on August 24, 2026, targeting Iranian financial networks and other activities while also making significant changes to sanctions involving Syria. OFAC’s accompanying SDN List update includes several cryptocurrency addresses identified as “Digital Currency Address – XBT,” OFAC’s designation for Bitcoin.
Continue reading Treasury Action Adds Six Bitcoin Addresses to OFAC List, Removes OneCategory Archives: Scam
In Bitcoin, Looking Official Means Nothing
New IRS Impersonation Scam Spotted in the Wild
There is an old rule in Bitcoin: don’t trust, verify.
That principle usually gets applied to wallets, transactions and private keys. But it is just as important when dealing with the people and institutions trying to reach your crypto holdings.
A recent scam highlighted by Coinbase is a perfect example.
Continue reading In Bitcoin, Looking Official Means NothingA Reminder for Crypto Crime Victims: Don’t Forget to Report the Crime
The recent COLDCARD hack has been a painful reminder that even experienced Bitcoin users can become victims of sophisticated attacks.
First and foremost, our thoughts are with everyone affected. We know that losing access to your Bitcoin is more than a financial setback, it can be an incredibly stressful and frustrating experience.
Many victims have already reported the wallet addresses involved to BitcoinWho’sWho.com, helping alert the community to suspicious activity. If you’ve done that, thank you. Community reporting plays an important role in helping others avoid the same fate.
But reporting a wallet address is only the first step.
Continue reading A Reminder for Crypto Crime Victims: Don’t Forget to Report the CrimeGreat Ruling. But Why Does It Take 32 Bitcoin to Get Justice?
The English High Court’s decision in Stephen Wilden v Person Unknown and Huobi Global S.A. [h/t Freshfields] is an important step forward for victims of cryptocurrency fraud. The ruling confirms that at least some Western courts are willing to issue freezing injunctions, compel exchanges to disclose information, and recognize sophisticated blockchain tracing techniques, even when stolen funds have been pooled and mixed in an attempt to conceal their origin.
It’s a significant victory for crypto asset recovery.
At the same time, the case raises an uncomfortable question.
Continue reading Great Ruling. But Why Does It Take 32 Bitcoin to Get Justice?Crypto Scam Digest – October 21, 2022
Two Men Sentenced to Prison for SIM-Swapping Crypto Scam
Two Massachusetts men were sentenced to two years in prison for stealing the social media accounts of crypto executives and using SIM-swapping to bypass 2FA protections. DOJ
$1.6M Stolen from an FTX Account
Details are unclear but it seem that hackers exploited automated trading bot API 3commas in order to take control of the user’s account and make thousands of trades. WU Blockchain
Localbitcoins User “Mustangy” Sentenced in Federal Court for Money Laundering
AKA Mustafa Goklu, Mustangy posted ads on localbitcoins.com offering to pay cash for up to $99,999 in Bitcoin. The cash he was offering came from his drug trafficking business. DOJ
Coinbase Users Sue over $21 Million in Crypto Scam Losses
Nearly 100 Coinbase users are taking the company to arbitration for failing to protect them from mining pool scams. Forbes
Three States Take Action Against Slotie NFT
Three US states have filed cease-and-desist orders against Slotie NFT for selling NFTs without proper registration and funneling the proceeds into metaverse casinos. Coindesk
Crypto Scam Digest – October 14, 2022
Scam Victim Withdraws BTC, Gets Toilet Paper
A Pennsylvania man received a briefcase which supposedly held cash from his crypto profits, but it turned out to contain toilet paper. And he paid an extra $9K for the code to open the briefcase. PA Homepage
WhatsApp Scam Impersonating Scary Spice
A scammer sent WhatsApp messages to stars and friends of Mel B (aka Scary Spice) asking for crypto donations to “help African children dying of thirst”. Yahoo!
Binance Hacked for Two Million BNB
An exploit of weaknesses in cross-chain bridges allowed a scammer to steal 2M Binance Coin worth about $580M. Yahoo!
French Police Charge Bored Ape NFT Thieves
Bored Ape NFT owners fell for a phishing scam that claimed it would animate the valuable NFTs. $2.5M in NFTs were stolen in all. Decrypt
Indian Police Target Scam Cloud Mining App
31 people fell victim to scam cloud mining app “CCH Cloud Miner” and police have filed a case against 3 of the scammers involved. Inc42
“Pig Butchering” Scams Increasing on Tinder
Scammers are using Tinder to meet victims, then dating them for weeks in order to set them up for a crypto theft. NY Post
Crypto Scam Digest – October 7th, 2022
Kim Kardashian Settles Charges for Illegal Crypto Promotion
Kardashian paid $1.26 million in penalties for promoting EthereumMax on social media without disclosing how much she was paid to do so. SEC.gov
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Just A Bit of Coin
Plaintiffs claim that Just A Bit of Coin promised to build bitcoin mining rigs for customers but never delivered, blaming supply chain issues. ClassAction.com
Brazilian Police, US Homeland Security Bust Crypto Fraud Ring
A multi-year investigation has ended with the execution of 20 search and seizure warrants against a crypto scam ring based in Curitaba, Brazil. ICE.gov
Malicious DApp Is Stealing Crypto from Other Crypto Scammers “Water Labbu” is inserting malicious code into crypto scam websites and emptying the wallets of visitors of those sites before they even have a chance to get scammed the usual way. Trend Micro
Bitcoin Scams are the World’s Other Continuing Pandemic
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 Most Frequently Reported Bitcoin Scams Of 2020
The 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.
Top 25 Most Frequently Reported Bitcoin Scam Addresses of 2020
Continue reading The Most Frequently Reported Bitcoin Scams Of 2020Treasury Department Cracking Down on Coin Mixers
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