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Fake cryptocurrency exchanges have duped Indian investors of more than $128 million (nearly Rs 1,000 crore) as the global crypto market tanks, a new report claimed on Tuesday. Cyber-security company CloudSEK said it has uncovered an ongoing operation involving several phishing domains and Android-based fake crypto applications. "This large-scale campaign entices unwary individuals into a huge gambling scam. Many of these bogus websites impersonate "CoinEgg", a legitimate UK-based cryptocurrency trading platform," according to the report. CloudSEK was approached by a victim who allegedly lost Rs 50 lakh ($64,000) to such a cryptocurrency scam, in addition to other costs such as deposit amount, tax, etc. "We estimate that threat actors have defrauded victims of up to $128 million (about Rs 1,000 crore) via such crypto scams," said Rahul Sasi, Founder and CEO of CloudSEK. As investors shift their focus on the cryptocurrency markets, scammers and cheats turn their attention to them as well,' Sasi added. Threat actors first create fake domains that impersonate legitimate crypto trading platforms. The sites are designed to replicate the official website's dashboard and user experience. The attackers then create a female profile on social media to approach the potential victim and establish a friendship. The profile influences the victim to invest in cryptocurrency and start trading. "The profile also shares $100-dollar credit, as a gift to a particular crypto exchange, which in this case is a duplicate of a legitimate crypto exchange," the report mentioned. The victim initially makes a significant profit, which bolsters their trust in the platform and the threat actor. After the victim seemingly makes a profit, the scammer convinces them to invest a higher amount, promising better returns. Once the victim adds their own money to the fake exchange, the threat actor freezes their account, ensuring the victim can't withdraw their investment, and disappears with the victim's money. When victims take to various platforms to complain about losing access to their accounts, the same, or new, threat actors reach out to them in the guise of investigators. "To retrieve the frozen assets, they request victims to provide confidential information such as ID cards and bank details, via email. These details are then used to perpetrate other nefarious activities," the report warned. In the long-term, it is imperative for the collaboration between crypto exchanges, Internet service providers (ISPs), and cyber crime cells to raise awareness and take action against threat groups," said Sasi. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/crypto-markets-face-a-long-road-back-after-bitcoin-plunges-below-20000-as-an-every-man-for-himself-attitude-spreads-ubs-strategist-says/articleshow/92337463.cms">Crypto markets face a long road back after bitcoin plunges below $20,000 as an 'every man for himself' attitude spreads, UBS strategist says</a>

Indian investors have lost nearly ₹1,000 crore to fake cryptocurrency exchanges

<ul><li>More than 51 per cent of the total <keyword id="6354947" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="bitcoin" source="Orion">Bitcoin</keyword> trading volume on various <keyword id="2721952" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword> exchanges this year is fake.</li><li>According to data provided by niche news publisher BanklessTimes.com, the majority of this fake Bitcoin volume is due to wash trading.</li><li>According to the report, faking trading volume can be a way for exchanges to attract new customers.</li></ul>More than 51 per cent of the total Bitcoin trading volume on various crypto exchanges this year is fake amid volatile global economic conditions, a new report has claimed. Bitcoin is the blue chip of cryptocurrency and represents 40 per cent of the total crypto assets outstanding in the new and volatile crypto markets. Its market cap is currently at 382.25 billion. According to data provided by niche news publisher BanklessTimes.com, the majority of this fake Bitcoin volume is due to wash trading. Wash trading is illegal, where an asset is bought and sold simultaneously on the same platform to create false liquidity. This is often done by bots or spoofing orders. "It's difficult to talk about cryptocurrency without talking about Bitcoin. Yet, there is a concern that a large part of the daily traded volume of Bitcoin is fake. This puts into question the legitimacy of exchanges and the reliability of data," said Jonathan Merry, CEO of BanklessTimes. Another factor contributing to the fake volume is stablecoins such as Tether (USDT).A Tether pairs very well with Bitcoin and is often used to buy and sell Bitcoin on exchanges. "This results in much volume being generated without any actual Bitcoin changing hands," said the report. According to the report, faking trading volume can be a way for exchanges to attract new customers. By appearing to be more popular than they actually are, exchanges can trick investors into thinking there is more activity and liquidity on their platform. Another reason people might engage in wash trading is to prop up the price of a particular asset, according to the report. By buying and selling the asset simultaneously, they can create the illusion of demand and drive up the price. This can be done for personal gain or artificially inflate an asset's price before selling it. "Investors should be wary of exchanges that report false figures. You must do your research and only use exchanges you trust," the report suggested. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/whatapp-business-gives-a-new-lease-of-life-to-solopreneurs-across-india-and-bharat/articleshow/94673370.cms">WhatsApp Business gives a new lease of life to solopreneurs across India and Bharat</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indias-service-sector-activity-falls-to-6-month-low-in-sep-amid-inflation-competition-pmi/articleshow/94675187.cms">India's service sector activity falls to 6-month low in Sep amid inflation, competition: PMI</a>

More than half of Bitcoin volume on crypto exchanges fake: Report

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Gold-Cup-El-Salvador-Canada-Soccer/5675a665cf954b6c871a316fd3b03812/74/0">AP/Mark J. Terrill</a></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>The sudden death of the boss of a crypto exchange in India gets stranger by the day.</li><li>Quadriga CEO Gerald Cotten died suddenly from complications related to Crohn's disease at the age of 30, the company said earlier this month.</li><li>Cotten was the only person with the passwords to access about CAD$250 million ($188 million) worth of deposits held by customers.</li><li>The sheer amount of missing funds, as well as several odd circumstances surrounding Cotten's death, have <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinCA/">led to theories he faked his death</a> in an elaborate scam to rob his customers.</li></ul>The mystery surrounding the sudden death of a crypto exchange bossmQuadrigaCX CEO Gerald Cotten died suddenly in India of complications related to Crohn's disease at the age of 30, the company said earlier this month.His widow, Jennifer Robertson, said <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/398721572/Jennifer-Robertson-Affidavit">in an affidavit </a>that he was the only one with Quadriga's passwords, meaning some 115,000 clients can't access their deposits. Quadriga's users are collectively owed about CAD$250 million ($188 million).The sheer amount of missing funds, as well as several odd circumstances surrounding Cotten's death, have <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinCA/">led to theories he faked his death</a> in an elaborate scam to rob his customers. Among a few reasons some crypto watchers are scratching their heads:<ul><li>With a proper treatment plan, <a href="https://bioplushealth.com/what-is-the-life-expectancy-with-crohns-disease/">the risk of death </a>from Crohn's disease is currently about 3%.</li><li>Cotten's will was signed on November 27, less than two weeks before his death on December 9. </li><li>Even before Cotten's death, the company had transaction delays and legal disputes led to millions of dollars being frozen.</li></ul>But those concerns aside, there's also the unusual way that Quadriga was run. As Canada's Globe and Mail reports, <a href="http://archive.is/fcX5n">the company was essentially a one-man show</a>."Perhaps the bigger mystery is why anyone trusted Quadriga in the first place," the Globe and Mail <a href="http://archive.is/fcX5n#selection-3423.184-3423.261">wrote</a>."Quadriga had no physical office, no corporate bank accounts or even an accounting department. Mr. Cotten employed only a small team of contractors. Cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada are not regulated. No one was watching over the company."Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quadrigacx-cant-pay-190-million-owed-because-ceo-with-password-died-2019-2?r=US&amp;IR=T">A crypto exchange can't repay $190 million it owes customers because its CEO died with the only password</a>Before his death, Cotten shifted the crypto holdings into "cold storage," offline physical devices that allow protection from thieves and hackers, his widow said. Those transactions paralyzed the funds, Robertson said, as Cotten was the only one with access. Robertson's attempts to hire consultants to help crack the code have so far been unsuccessful, she said. "The Quadriga story doesn't make sense," Emin Gün Sirer, a professor at Cornell University and co-director of the Initiative for CryptoCurrencies and Contracts, <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sleuths-scour-for-frozen-quadriga-coins-in-crypto-drama-1989647">told Bloomberg</a>."If the funds are frozen and the cold wallet is inaccessible, it should be possible for the exchange to provide the cold wallet addresses so their claims can be verified with the help of the blockchain." Bloomberg also talked to an analysis firm called Elementus, which said that it couldn't find any cold wallets holding Ether, one of the cryptocurrencies that's listed as missing, and that Quadriga was moving Ether to bigger trading platforms through the middle of January.Did the exchange set up automatic transfers to larger exchanges when its wallet balances reached a certain amount?It's possible.Or, Elementus founder Max Galka told Bloomberg, it could be that "there's some fishy business going on."Get the latest Bitcoin price <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/BTC-USD">here.&gt;&gt;</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jean-philippe-courtois-microsoft-executive-vice-president-digital-transformation-tech-intensity-davos-2019-1">A Microsoft EVP explains how every company is becoming digital - from farming to staffing</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

'The bigger mystery is why anyone trusted Quadriga in the first place': The story of the CEO who died with the passwords to $190 million of cryptocurrency is getting stranger by the day

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="11964162" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fbi" source="Orion">FBI</keyword> warned crypto investors of fake apps, which scammed over $42 million from users since October.</li><li>Fraudulent apps were often masquerading under the names of legitimate crypto platforms, the warning said.</li></ul>The FBI issued a warning Monday for investors to be wary of <a href="https://www.ic3.gov/Media/News/2022/220718.pdf">fake apps in the cryptocurrency space, which defrauded</a> over $42 million from users since October of last year.The fake apps often ask users to deposit <keyword id="11892695" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrency" source="Orion">cryptocurrency</keyword> before locking them out of their accounts. The FBI has tallied 244 such victims and singled out several apps for alleged fraudulent behavior.For example, scammers using the name YiBit asked users to deposit and pay taxes on cryptocurrency before blocking customers from withdrawing their funds. Another fake app going by the name Supay sought a user's funds then froze them, claiming a minimum balance of $900,000 was required.The agency noted that fraudsters were using the popularity of online crypto banking to scam users, and were often masquerading under names of legitimate crypto companies. YiBit went by the name of a formerly legitimate crypto exchange that ended its operations in 2018, and Supay took its name from a legitimate Australian exchange, the FBI said. The FBI urged crypto investors to do research on companies that offer cryptocurrency services and to verify a company's identity before handing over personal information. The decentralized and largely unregulated crypto space has a reputation for being a petri dish of financial crime, causing the <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2022-78">SEC to double its crypto and cyber crime unit</a> earlier this year.The Federal Trade Commission has also flashed warnings, reporting that investors had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-scams-conned-thousands-collective-1-billion-ftc-2022-6">lost over $1 billion to fraudsters</a> since the beginning of 2021.Policymakers have previously urged Congress to step in, and <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sec-crypto-regulation-expectations-congress-wall-street-110034161.html">Senator Elizabeth Warren told Yahoo Finance last week</a>: "Too many crypto firms have been able to scam customers and leave ordinary investors holding the bag while insiders make off with their money."

The FBI is warning crypto investors to be on the lookout for fake apps that have defrauded over $42 million from users

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Scammers have been targeting <keyword id="12303302" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="shiba-inu" source="Orion">shiba inu</keyword> online, said the team behind the altcoin. </li><li>The Shib team in a video warning told investors to "stay alert" for fake groups and giveaways using shiba inu hashtags. </li></ul>The people behind the <keyword id="12586417" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="shiba-inu-altcoin" source="Orion">shiba inu altcoin</keyword>, which has swelled to a $24 billion valuation this year, issued a fraud alert Sunday, warning investors that its community is being targeted by online scammers. "Stay Alert &amp; Safe<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ShibArmy?src=hashtag_click"> #ShibArmy</a>!," said the so-called Shib team in a <a href="https://twitter.com/Shibtoken/status/1462322035992903680?s=20">video posted on Twitter</a>, saying it's been made aware of a recent scam traveling across various social and communication platforms. "A Fake Shiba Inu Telegram group is being shared across social media. The scammers impersonate official accounts, and create fake users," and reply to general posts using hashtags associated with shiba inu including #SHIB #LEASH and #SHIBASWAP, the team said. The group also alerted investors to not share wallet keys or provide email addresses or passwords to anyone. "There is no: Breaking News! Big Event! There is no: Shiba Airdrop!," it said in the video. Shiba inu's price was down on Monday, off by 0.2% at $0.00004493, and hovered around a valuation of $24 billion. The warning comes as the ethereum-based dogecoin spinoff has soared in popularity and market valuation. In rallying during October, it shot up to a <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/shiba-inu">nearly $36 billion market capitalization</a> from $3.59 billion at the end of September and became the 11th most valuable cryptocurrency.It's listed on Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US, as well as on Crypto.com and eToro. This month, it was added to the crypto exchange Public and to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/shiba-inu-coin-gemini-exchange-altcoin-meme-token-mask-audius-2021-11">Gemini, the crypto exchange run by the Winklevoss twins. </a>But other exchanges said they will continue monitoring shiba inu before listing. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/hood-stock">Robinhood</a>, for one, said it would <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/robinhood-shiba-inu-price-crypto-coinbase-short-term-gain-coo-2021-11">focus on investor protection before listing the token</a>. Shiba inu was launched in August 2020 by someone called Ryoshi, who outlined a goal of moving away from "rigid social structures and traditional mindsets" in a 28-page white paper, dubbed a "woof paper."

The team behind the $24 billion Shiba Inu altcoin warns about a scam targeting potential investors

North Korea-based notorious <keyword id="279456" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="lazarus" source="Orion">Lazarus</keyword> hacking group is back in action, targeting <keyword id="6354427" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="apple" source="Orion">Apple</keyword> <keyword id="62949" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mac" source="Orion">Mac</keyword> users with fake job emails that contain malicious files. Researchers at cyber-security firm ESET posted a screenshot on Twitter that showed fake job listings from leading crypto exchange <keyword id="1972612" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="coinbase" source="Orion">Coinbase</keyword> by Lazarus, famous for spreading the WannaCry ransomware globally in 2017. The fake job listing was for an engineering manager, product security, at Coinbase. "A signed Mac executable disguised as a job description for Coinbase was uploaded to VirusTotal from Brazil. This is an instance of Operation by Lazarus for Mac," the ESET researchers posted in a tweet. The fake job emails have an attachment containing malicious files that can compromise both Intel and Apple chip-powered Mac computers. "Malware is compiled for both Intel and Apple Silicon. It drops three files: a decoy PDF document, a bundle and a downloader," warned researchers. The Mac malware campaign is new and not part of previous Lazarus campaigns. This time, "the bundle is signed July 21 (according to the timestamp) using a certificate issued in February 2022 to a developer named <keyword id="14778863" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shankey-nohria" source="Orion">Shankey Nohria</keyword>. The application is not notarised and Apple has revoked the certificate on August 12," the researchers noted. Last month, cyber-security researchers linked Lazarus with stealing $100 million worth digital tokens from Harmony, the crypto startup behind Horizon Blockchain Bridge. The Lazarus Group has perpetrated several large cryptocurrency thefts totalling over $2 billion, and has recently turned its attention to Decentralised Finance (DeFi) services such as cross-chain bridges, according to London-based blockchain analysis provider Elliptic. The same group is believed to be behind the $540 million hack of <keyword id="14283106" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ronin-bridge" source="Orion">Ronin Bridge</keyword>. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/meet-indias-real-gully-boy-vidit-aatrey-of-meesho-is-taking-the-entrepreneurial-dream-deep-inside-bharat/articleshow/93702491.cms">Meet India’s Real Gully Boy: Vidit Aatrey of Meesho is taking the entrepreneurial dream deep inside Bharat</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/indians-spend-half-an-hour-every-day-on-memes-and-thats-gone-up-80-in-the-last-year/articleshow/93702734.cms">Indians spend half an hour every day on memes and that's gone up 80% in the last year</a>

Lazarus hackers targeting Apple Mac users with fake job posts

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The DOJ is investigating two brothers behind a solana stablecoin exchange over alleged fraud, CoinDesk reported. </li><li>The Macalinao brothers reportedly crafted 11 fake identities to triple-count crypto deposits to create a fake De-Fi ecosystem. </li></ul>The US Department of Justice is probing two brothers behind a solana stablecoin exchange that reportedly used 11 fake identities to triple-count deposits, <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/01/11/doj-said-to-probe-saber-labs-founders-over-solana-based-defi-stablecoin-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to CoinDesk</a>. The investigation follows CoinDesk's earlier exposé in August which revealed the Macalinao brothers crafted a fake decentralized finance ecosystem by passing the triple-counted deposits between themselves. The allegedly fraudulent scheme was meant to increase a key metric for cryptocurrency Solana in 2021. US authorities are looking into a web of crypto projects circulating Saber, per CoinDesk, including a De-Fi yield-farming app Sunny Aggregator and a stablecoin project Cashio that lost millions of dollars in a hack last March. The DOJ and Saber Labs did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. "The metric to optimize for in Summer 2021 was [total value locked (TVL)]" Ian Macalinao wrote in an unpublished blog discovered by CoinDesk. "TVL can only count if protocols are built separately, so I devised a scheme to maximize Solana's TVL: I would build protocols that stack on top of each other, such that a dollar could be counted several times," he added. Meanwhile, Saber is still maintaining operations. <a href="https://saber.markets/#/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to its website</a>, it's processed $4.3 million in trading volume in the last 24 hours. The crypto industry is facing turmoil and scrutiny following the collapse in November of Sam Bankman-Fried's <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/crypto-ftx-task-force-recover-missing-customer-funds-bankman-fried-2023-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FTX</a>, which has since led to a slew of money laundering and conspiracy charges.

The DOJ is investigating whether 2 crypto developer brothers used 11 fake identities to triple-count deposits, report says

<keyword id="6355629" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google" source="Orion">Google</keyword> has alerted <keyword id="51500" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gmail" source="Orion">Gmail</keyword> users about five key scams and spams during the holiday season. The company advised users to avoid gift card and giveaway frauds, charity-related scams, demographic targeting scams, subscription renewals frauds and crypto scams. The tech giant protects users from around 15 billion unwanted messages a day and blocks more than 99.9 per cent of spam, phishing and malware, the company said in a blog post. A gift card and giveaway frauds are common during the peak holiday season. Scammers may try to fool victims into buying a gift card for them, by pretending to be a recognised contact or offering a free present in exchange for their credit card number. Moreover, if a giveaway seems too good to be true, it can be a scam. Charity-related scams and phishing attempts are harmful to both the victims of the frauds and the charities that would have benefited from the donations. Keep a look out for identity-based malicious emails, which may impersonate local parent-teacher association's (<keyword id="65629" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pta" source="Orion">PTA</keyword>) board members or target certain age groups with fake emails, the company said. Scams involving membership renewal may create fake antivirus services in an effort to attract victims with the promise of increased security. Even though some scammers are highly skilled at making their messages appear believable, users should always check the sender's email. If something seems wrong, it might be fake. Crypto-based frauds frequently come in the form of variations, one of which attempts to extort money from a victim by threatening them. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/vocal-for-local-online-commerce-unicorn-meesho-joins-ondc-to-aid-local-sellers/articleshow/95704818.cms">Vocal for local: Online commerce unicorn Meesho joins ONDC to aid local sellers</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/asus-launches-new-desktops-starting-at-54990-in-india/articleshow/95708142.cms">Asus launches new desktops starting at ₹54,990 in India</a>

You Searched For "india fake crypto exchange" and got 8 results

Indian investors have lost nearly ₹1,000 crore to fake cryptocurrency exchanges

IANS

More than half of Bitcoin volume on crypto exchanges fake: Report

IANS

'The bigger mystery is why anyone trusted Quadriga in the first place': The story of the CEO who died with the passwords to $190 million of cryptocurrency is getting stranger by the day

Trista Kelley

The FBI is warning crypto investors to be on the lookout for fake apps that have defrauded over $42 million from users

Jennifer Sor

The team behind the $24 billion Shiba Inu altcoin warns about a scam targeting potential investors

Carla Mozée

Lazarus hackers targeting Apple Mac users with fake job posts

IANS

The DOJ is investigating whether 2 crypto developer brothers used 11 fake identities to triple-count deposits, report says

Zahra Tayeb

Google alerts users about 5 key holiday season scams

IANS

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