A&D Forensics Brief, February 10, 2023
A&D Forensics
Financial and Blockchain Intelligence Consulting, Blockchain Forensics, Crypto Investigations and Training Firm.
Regulatory and Crime News
Kraken settles with the US SEC and discontinues its staking services.
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun a regulatory crackdown on exchanges offering Staking as a service. Two Kraken crypto exchange subsidiaries, Payward Ventures Inc and Payward Trading Ltd, have been fined $30million for failing to register and offering their asset staking-as-a-service program. This has also led Kraken to shutting down the service.
The UK & US govts sanctioned members of Russia-based cybercrime gang Trickbot.
Data by Chainalysis shows ransomware strains related to Trickbot extorted at least $724M worth of crypto, making Trickbot the 2nd highest earning cybercrime group, following the DPRK-linked Lazarus group. Trickbot is a type of malware that has been used in cyberattacks against organizations and people worldwide.
LocalBitcoins, a P2P Exchange, is shutting down
LocalBitcoins, a bitcoin exchange, will close its doors due to market conditions. The peer-to-peer Bitcoin platform will shut down before the end of February 2023, according to a statement on its website. This was officially announced on their website.
The Webaverse crypto project hacked for $4M in a hotel lobby
After meeting with con artists posing as investors in a hotel lobby in Rome, the co-founder of Web3 metaverse game engine "Webaverse" stated they had been the victims of a $4 million cryptocurrency heist. According to co-founder Ahad Shams, the strange part of the story is that the cryptocurrency was taken from a recently created Trust Wallet, and that the theft happened at some time during the meeting.
Dingo cryptocurrency token reported as a fraud due to a backdoor 99% transaction fee
The Dingo Token (DINGO) has apparently been highlighted as a "possible scam" by Check Point's research division after it was allegedly found that a smart contract function has been exploited to rig transaction fees.
23 North Texans arrested, charged in East Texas money laundering conspiracy
On Friday, 3 Feb, federal officials in Texas USA, announced the arrest of almost two dozen people related to a Dallas forte crime that led to the loss of $3.5 millions.
Binance receives more than 47,000 requests from law enforcement to trace illicit funds
Since November 2021, the world's biggest cryptocurrency centralized exchange, have received over 47000 requests. These are requests for either user data or seizure requests for funds, cases that are too complicated for law enforcement,” Nils Andersen-Roed, deputy head of financial crime compliance at Binance, told The National in an interview at the Leap technology exhibition in Riyadh on Wednesday, 8 Feb.
US online grocery delivery platform leaks 11m user records
A US-based online grocery delivery platform, Weee!, had delivery data of 11 million customers leaked online. Some logs include door codes that couriers use to enter buildings. The attacker posted the database. It appears that they are the same person(d) who leaked stolen data from mobile carrier US cellular.
Hermes Wins Metabikins lawsuit against Rothschild
In other news relating to patency and rights to ownership, Hermes a designer handbags brand sues Rothschild. The $133,000 lawsuit is set for appeal as Rothschild, an NFTs curator, insists on his rights.
FTX to Subpoena SBF and Parents, Other Insiders
In a recent development of the FTX collapse news, the new FTX team secures subpoena financial information from close relatives. These include Sam Bankman-fried parents, siblings and other top executives and associates, Gary wang and Carolina Ellison.
Stablecoin Issuer Paxos Is Being Investigated by New York Regulator
Stablecoin issuer Paxos is being investigated by the New York Department of Financial Services, according to a CoinDesk report, yesterday, Feb 9. The full scope of the investigation is, however, unclear. Paxos’ stablecoins include the Pax dollar (USDP) and Binance USD (BUSD), a Binance-branded stablecoin offered through a white-label service.
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