scam

According to CNA, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) reported that a cryptocurrency scam involving fake job postings and compromised software systems resulted in losses of $11.8 million.The scam group impersonated cryptocurrency company recruiters on LinkedIn, used forged domain names to send emails, conducted video interviews, and induced victims to download malware on company devices to complete "technical tests," thereby stealing session tokens, bypassing multi-factor authentication, and ultimately transferring cryptocurrency.

According to Cryptopolitan, cybersecurity company Malwarebytes discovered that a user on a cybercrime forum is selling a "scam toolkit" for $500, which can set up a fake $TSLA token presale website with almost no technical background required.The scam process is as follows: after visitors enter an X username, the page displays their real avatar to create the illusion of a "targeted invitation," combined with a countdown and price increase warnings to create a sense of urgency. If victims choose the "15% reward link wallet" option, they will be asked to enter a 12-word recovery phrase, resulting in their wallet being emptied; if they choose to "invest" directly, they must send cryptocurrency assets to an address controlled by the scammers, and then see a fabricated balance on a fake dashboard. The toolkit's control panel allows operators to track victims in real-time, collect recovery phrases, and check wallet balances in advance to decide whether to strike. Malwarebytes discovered this toolkit on May 16, and recently IRS and Ledger users have also encountered similar phishing attacks.

Binance New Zealand recently issued a security warning, reminding local users to be aware of the frequent SMS phishing scams that have emerged recently. Scammers impersonate Binance officials, using the lure of free cryptocurrency or event tickets, and falsely claim in the messages that their activities have been approved by the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA).Binance advises users not to click on any links in such messages and not to connect their wallets to suspicious platforms. Users can verify the authenticity of relevant contact information and websites through Binance's official verification tool "Binance Verify" to prevent asset loss.

According to Qilu Evening News, a new type of virtual currency "staking mining" scam has recently emerged. Scammers create a perfect persona through long-term friendships on social platforms, chatting with victims for one to two months to build trust. They then guide victims to switch to overseas private communication software such as WhatsApp and Discord, inducing them to download fake mining platforms and sign contracts for authorization. Using the asset transfer permissions from the contracts, they quietly transfer funds from the victims' accounts in the background.The scammers never mention sensitive words like "investment" or "financial management," packaging the scam as "idle computing power staking mining," claiming zero risk and stable returns, and using small rebates to entice victims to increase their investments. Currently, most victims are young people with side job needs, with known losses exceeding 3 million yuan, and the highest individual loss exceeding 300,000 yuan. Victims are spread across many regions of the country. Lawyers remind that virtual currency transactions are not protected by law, and any strangers on social platforms inducing a switch to overseas software or requesting wallet authorization for unfamiliar contracts should be regarded as scams. Do not make secondary transfers.

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea has launched a three-month project to rebuild the fraud refund system with a budget of approximately 119 million won. This upgrade aims to align with the revised Telecommunications Fraud Damage Compensation Act, which will officially take effect on October 1, and formally includes virtual assets in the categories of "damaged property" and "refundable property."The new system will support the calculation of compensation amounts based on token types and quantities, using the value of the won at the time the funds were frozen as a reference benchmark, and will also have the capability to dismantle mixed fraud funds across multiple accounts. Major exchanges such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX will be required to undertake anti-fraud and victim relief obligations equivalent to those of banks, including verifying transaction purposes, monitoring suspicious funds, and freezing suspected accounts.

On-chain detective ZachXBT posted that U.S. threat actor Tiffany Milanovich participated in the theft of approximately $5 million in crypto assets by impersonating hardware wallet and centralized exchange customer service.Her methods included disguising as Bitcoin IRA email support, during one attack transferring about $1.2 million in BTC and ETH from the victim's Trezor wallet, and in another case stealing about $500,000 in BTC from a Coinbase account. Tiffany induced victims to hand over access to their funds under the guise of "customer service calls," later boasting about the stolen money on social media and Telegram groups, mocking victims with recordings, and collaborating with other threat actors to launder money using phishing panels and instant exchange services, with some of the stolen funds still dormant on-chain.The threat actor codenamed "Tiffany" is suspected of participating in multiple crypto asset thefts, gambling the stolen funds at crypto casinos. The platform Shuffle has frozen related accounts based on evidence submitted by ZachXBT; Tiffany previously shared a search and seizure warrant from Connecticut, dated before some of the incidents involved.ZachXBT has obtained chat logs, recordings, and on-chain evidence, anticipating that this individual may face further legal consequences. This threat actor is also linked to the John Daghita (Lick) case, who is suspected of stealing over $46 million in crypto assets from a U.S. government-seized wallet.

According to the Dongguan Release public account, the Dongguan Hengli police successfully intercepted a virtual currency investment fraud case, preserving 1.1 million yuan in cash just 5 minutes before the victim's offline transaction with the fraudster, thus avoiding significant economic losses.It is understood that the victim, Ms. Li (pseudonym), previously met an unfamiliar online acquaintance who lured her with "internal investment channels for virtual currency," promising low thresholds and high returns, and created a false impression of investment profits through forged profit screenshots. Subsequently, the fraudster induced Ms. Li to withdraw 1.1 million yuan in cash under the pretext of "needing to exchange cash for USD recharge" for payment. After discovering risk clues, the Dongguan police quickly activated the early warning interception mechanism, organized police forces to rush to the bank to dissuade her, and ultimately successfully prevented the fund transfer before the transaction.

According to Hong Kong 01, the Hong Kong police updated information regarding the virtual currency Fun Coffee scam, revealing that as of August 5, a total of 255 related reports had been received, an increase of 30 from earlier, with total losses rising to approximately HKD 104 million. In addition, the Macau police arrested two women involved in 9 cases amounting to about 3.6 million Macau patacas.Regarding TVB artists who have hosted activities related to the Fun Coffee scam, the Hong Kong police stated that during the investigation, they would definitely contact the victims and relevant individuals to identify the mastermind behind the scam and their roles. Fun Coffee claims to be a large coffee investment enterprise in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, with a capital scale exceeding USD 1 billion. It entered the Hong Kong market by the end of 2025, packaging its image through marathons, banquets, social events, distributing flyers, and inviting artists to promote it, while registering a company, opening offices, and stores in Hong Kong. The actual operation was to lure citizens into downloading the app to complete tasks under the guise of investing in high-tech coffee equipment, gene optimization technology, and agricultural equipment, using Tether (USDT) and other cryptocurrencies for deposits. The platform promised annual returns of up to 197%--278%, with higher returns for larger amounts and longer deposit periods, and set up a commission structure to encourage recruitment. In July 2026, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission listed it as a suspicious investment product. In late July of the same month, the app suddenly ceased operations, withdrawals became impossible, customer service went offline, and the offices and stores were vacated, leading to the collapse of the scam.

According to Bitcoin.com, a Bitcoin and Litecoin holder provided a 12-word mnemonic phrase to an attacker impersonating Trezor support, resulting in approximately $282 million in assets being transferred, including about $139 million in Bitcoin and $153 million in Litecoin. Blockchain forensics company ZeroShadow stated that the incident stemmed from a social engineering attack and was not due to a breach of wallet software or private key infrastructure.The stolen funds were split via the THORChain cross-chain bridge within minutes and converted to Monero through an instant exchange service. The ZeroShadow monitoring team flagged and froze approximately $700,000 in funds within 20 minutes. Under the BIP39 standard, a 12-word mnemonic phrase contains about 128 bits of entropy, while a 24-word mnemonic phrase contains 256 bits of entropy. Chainalysis estimates that up to 23% of mined Bitcoin is permanently inaccessible due to lost keys, involving millions of BTC, with reasons including forgotten mnemonic phrases, damaged backups, and lack of inheritance plans.

According to a report by Hong Kong 01, "Fun Coffee," which claims to be rooted in Vietnam, just entered Hong Kong at the end of 2025 and was warned by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission in July 2026 for being a suspicious investment product. The company appears to be investing in the coffee business, but in reality, it is a virtual currency investment scam with annual interest rates as high as 222%, ultimately "collapsing" at the end of July.The victim group has over 370 people, with each person defrauded of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Multiple investment groups combined have a total of 4,000 people involved, with funds exceeding 1 billion Hong Kong dollars. A middle-aged woman in her 50s claims that she unknowingly became a shareholder and director of one of Fun Coffee's Hong Kong registered companies, and she has over a hundred "downlines." After being contacted by reporters, she has gone to the police to report the case. The police have received 115 reports, which have been handed over to the Commercial Crime Bureau's fraud investigation team for follow-up.The report states that Fun Coffee held a marathon event in Hong Kong at the end of last year, inviting artist Yuen Siu Cheung to host and distributing anti-fraud leaflets for promotion in various districts. The company's headquarters in Kowloon Bay and its storefront in Mong Kok are now empty, with notices of unpaid rent posted. The Securities and Futures Commission issued a warning on July 13, and the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security also warned in May that it is suspected to be a Ponzi scheme.

According to statistics from Hong Kong law enforcement, from July 24 to 30, a total of 25 cases of investment fraud involving online romance were reported, with total losses nearing 70 million Hong Kong dollars. In one large online romance investment fraud case, a 50-year-old insurance practitioner was deceived by an online romantic partner claiming to be a "car dealer" into investing in virtual currency. Until last month, the victim discovered that the investment platform showed account earnings exceeding 800%, but when attempting to withdraw funds, the request was denied. Subsequently, both the online romantic partner and the so-called investment expert went offline, and the victim ultimately confirmed a cumulative loss of over 26 million Hong Kong dollars.The police remind investors to be vigilant about the behavior of recommending investment projects after establishing relationships through social platforms, especially those involving virtual currency, guaranteeing high returns, or requiring transactions through unfamiliar platforms. Do not relax financial safety precautions due to emotions or trust.

The FBI submitted data disclosure to the legislative committee, revealing that losses related to cryptocurrency kiosks in Texas amounted to $56.8 million in 2025, involving 1,179 complaints, making it the highest loss among all states in the U.S. The total number of related complaints nationwide was 13,460, with reported losses increasing by 58% year-on-year to $389 million. Cryptocurrency kiosks can accept cash and exchange it for cryptocurrency, typically set up at gas stations and convenience stores.Statistics from the Texas Tribune show that there are about 4,000 such devices in Texas, where scammers induce victims to withdraw money from their bank accounts and deposit it into the machines. Jesse Saucillo, Deputy Commissioner of the Texas Department of Banking, stated that once funds are transferred out, recovering them is nearly impossible, as the money typically flows into unhosted wallets and then into mixers. He added that AI-generated police and state agency impersonation content makes phone inducements more deceptive.Data from AARP indicates that since 2023, approximately 30 states in the U.S. have enacted laws related to cryptocurrency kiosks. Indiana fully banned such devices in March, followed by Tennessee and Minnesota. Texas House Committee Chairman Rep. Cole Hefner stated that the state will consider measures beyond regulatory scope.

According to Bloomberg, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has warned cryptocurrency holders that scammers are contacting some taxpayers by mailing fake letters in an attempt to steal their digital assets or personal data. The IRS stated that these letters may ask taxpayers to register for a so-called "Digital Asset Compliance Portal," which does not exist. The IRS also reminds users not to scan suspicious QR codes and not to answer or cooperate with calls requesting payment.While phishing and digital scams are not new in the cryptocurrency industry, sending fake IRS notices through physical mail seems to be a new scam tactic. Since the IRS has indeed sent letters related to digital assets to taxpayers in the past, and last year saw a surge in cryptocurrency tax filing notifications, many taxpayers are confused, which may lead scammers to exploit this familiarity for disguise. As the U.S. tax system requires taxpayers to disclose cryptocurrency activities on their tax returns, communication between the IRS and cryptocurrency holders has become more common. This also makes counterfeit tax notices more misleading. For cryptocurrency users, encountering "IRS letters" involving portal registration, QR code scanning, wallet connections, or payment requests should be treated with caution, and verification should be done through official channels.

SlowMist announced that a new recruitment scam targeting Web3 practitioners has recently been discovered. Attackers impersonate recruiters, luring victims to install an AI meeting software called "Relay," which is actually an information-stealing malware.This malware targets both macOS and Windows users and can steal sensitive information such as browser credentials, cryptocurrency wallet-related data, Keychain data, Telegram sessions, and more. SlowMist has completed sample analysis and disclosed how this attack chain operates. SlowMist reminds that when participating in online interviews or recruitment processes, one should be cautious about installing unfamiliar software, avoid running unverified applications, and pay attention to unusual installation requests or system password prompts.

According to TechCrunch, Apple has been sued over App Store security issues. Three plaintiffs claim they were induced to download a fraudulent cryptocurrency wallet app, Sparrow Wallet, which is not officially available for iOS. The plaintiffs have incurred losses totaling over $1.8 million—James Ramirez lost approximately $875,000, Christopher Ellis lost about $840,000, and Jalen Delgado lost around $120,000.The lawsuit accuses Apple of knowingly allowing fraudulent apps to remain in the App Store while using its security promises as a marketing tool to resist third-party app stores and sideloading. The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial, damages, and public disclosure of App Store risks. Apple has not commented on the lawsuit but stated that counterfeit apps violate its guidelines and will be swiftly removed. Currently, there are no counterfeit versions of Sparrow Wallet in the App Store, and over 371,000 submissions of plagiarized or misleading apps have been rejected in 2025.

According to Decrypt, the U.S. Department of Justice's District of Columbia Attorney's Office, in conjunction with the Secret Service, has filed five civil forfeiture lawsuits in court regarding investment fraud and "pig butchering" scams, seizing over $25 million in cryptocurrency assets, with victims spread across the U.S. and Canada.The largest case involves approximately $12.1 million, with over 200 victims; the amount marked by Canada is about $10.4 million, involving over 270 suspicious transactions; the remaining three cases range from $285,000 to $2.4 million, one of which involves scammers posing as "fund recovery intermediaries" to carry out secondary fraud. Investigations show that money launderers are primarily located in Southeast Asia, with involved IP addresses coming from China, Malaysia, and Cambodia. This operation is part of the "Fraud Center Task Force" established in November 2025, which has cumulatively recovered over $800 million, and the five cases are still under ongoing investigation.

On July 18 to 19, the Bangalore branch of the Indian Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at multiple locations involved in a virtual asset over-the-counter trading scam targeting overseas investors, based on the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).The criminal gang claimed to supply tokens such as MultiversX, Kava, BEAM, GRASS, SUI, VANA, and AGLD at discounted prices through private social channels, thereby enticing foreign investors to invest funds. The total amount involved in the case is approximately $35 million, initially reported by a Dutch entity.This operation has seized electronic devices, wallet credentials, and cryptocurrency assets worth 8,700 USDT. Law enforcement agencies are continuing to expand leads and dig deeper into the complete criminal chain.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Florida resident Zan Shaikh and his company Bright Vision Distribution LLC (operating under the name Mining Automatic), accusing them of defrauding investors through a fraudulent cryptocurrency mining investment scheme, with approximately $22 million raised.The SEC stated that from June 2023 to May 2025, Shaikh and Mining Automatic promised investors fixed monthly returns by participating in cryptocurrency mining operations, but the related mining operations were actually unable to generate the promised returns. According to the SEC's complaint, Shaikh and Mining Automatic are accused of making false statements regarding their cryptocurrency mining experience, operational capabilities, the use of investment funds, and the status of the mining business, and explained payment delays by claiming they were unable to pay investor returns.

According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, two Chinese citizens, Chen Zhuoying (also known as "Jolene," 27 years old, Brooklyn) and Zhang Haojie (also known as "Kevin," 38 years old, Queens), were formally charged on July 16 in federal court in Brooklyn with conspiracy to commit money laundering.According to the allegations, the two managed a money laundering network of over ten people in Queens and Brooklyn from 2020 to 2022, using approximately 45 shell companies and 140 business bank accounts to transfer at least $43 million in proceeds from "pig butchering" investment scams to accounts in China. The "pig butchering" scam contacts victims through social media or instant messaging software, gaining their trust with false high-return investment opportunities before absconding with their money. This case is being jointly investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, IRS-CI, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. If convicted, both defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison.

According to Bitcoin.com, the Singapore Police Force's Anti-Fraud Centre and Cybercrime Investigation Department, in a six-week joint anti-fraud operation from April 16 to May 31, 2026, collaborated with Coinbase, Coinhako, Gemini, Independent Reserve, OKX, StraitsX, and Upbit to identify potential fraud victims using blockchain analysis tools from Chainalysis and TRM Labs. They conducted over 145 targeted interventions through phone calls and on-site visits, preventing potential losses exceeding $4.2 million.Coinbase Singapore posted on X on July 10, stating that it collaborated with the Singapore Police to prevent over 145 individuals from losing a total of more than $4.2 million due to fraud. The Singapore Police stated that they will continue to work with cryptocurrency exchanges and other private sectors to combat cybercrime.