There are now 5,000 cryptocurrency ATMs all over the world, and of course, they’re proving to throw up a whole raft of opportunities for scammers to make a quick buck. And with recent news from Canada, I think we’ve seen the dumbest con yet.
Police in Winnipeg have issued a warning to locals after con-artists started targeting users of the city’s Bitcoin ATMs with the worst con ever, Canadian outlet City News reports .
According to the report, scammers have been putting homemade out-of-order signs on the Bitcoin ATMs stating that they are currently undergoing software updates.
The sign asks users to scan a QR code attached the sign as they buy Bitcoin from the convenience machine. The QR code however, connects the transaction to a Bitcoin wallet owned by the con-artists. As such, any funds the victim buys are redirected to the bad actors and not into their own wallet.
Imagine standing at a conventional cash ATM, outside your bank branch, reading a sign that’s telling you to deposit your cash into someone else’s bank account. That’s effectively what scammers were asking here.
Posters were allegedly found at two of the 20 Bitcoin ATMs scattered across Winnipeg, so it seems the con isn’t that widespread.
Local Police have said that no one has fallen victim to the latest scam, and I would bloody well hope not!
Clearly the scammers are punting on Bitcoin ATM users not knowing the first thing about cryptocurrency. While cryptocurrency addresses are far from comprehensible, the mechanics of them are fairly simple.
If you send Bitcoin to an address that you don’t own the private keys to, your coins are gone. Unless, perhaps you ask the person you sent them to, to return them. You’ll probably have to ask really nice though, and in this case, I doubt the scammers would oblige.
This is certainly one of the most low-tech – and did I say worst? – Bitcoin ATM cons we’ve seen.
Last year, cybercriminals in Australia were using Bitcoin ATMs as part of their illicit campaign to con immigrants . The bad actors told Australian immigrants to pay cash into a Bitcoin ATM and direct the funds to a specific cryptocurrency address, to pay a tax debt or risk deportation.
Bitcoin exchange DragonEx ‘hacked for undisclosed amount’
Cryptocurrency exchange DragonEx says it has been hacked, although it is not yet known how much has been lost in the alleged attack.
The Singapore-based company announced the news on its official Telegram channel on Monday.
In its announcement, the company explained: “On March 24th, DragonEx has [sic] encountered attacks from hackers, our users’ crypto assets and Platform crypto assets were transferred and stolen.”
Part of the assets, the statement continues, have already been retrieved. “We will do our best to retrieve back [sic] the rest of the stolen assets,” the company said.
The exchange said that several judicial administrations including Estonia, Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong were informed about the attack, while adding it was assisting the police with its investigation .
Additionally, DragonEx said further details about the attack will be revealed in a week and noted it would take responsibility for the loss caused to its users.
Earlier today, the company shared 20 cryptocurrency wallet addresses which seemingly contain hacked funds from the exchange.
Hark Fork will be keeping a close eye on this evolving story and will bring you more details as soon as these are made public.
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Moonday Mornings: Apple says no to cryptocurrency, Mastercard says yes to blockchain
Good morning! It’s the first day of a new week so you know what that means. It’s time for Hard Fork’s wrap-up of the weekend’s top cryptocurrency and blockchain headlines.
Take a look.
1. Owners of Apple’s hotly anticipated credit card will not be able to buy cryptocurrency with it, Reuters reports . A customer agreement posted to Apple Card partner Goldman Sachs‘ website last Friday said the card “cannot be used to purchase cash advances or cash equivalents that include cryptocurrencies…” Hey, at least they recognize cryptocurrency as cash, kind of.
2. The Bitcoin blockchain network is going from strength to strength this year. According to the latest figures from BTCom, the average hash rate over the last two weeks reached 71.43 EH/s ( quintillion hashes per second ), CoinDesk states . Back in June, the Bitcoin network set a record hash rate of 65.12 EH/s. Three cheers for decentralization.
3. According to The Block , Mastercard could be the latest big corporate to dip its toe into the blockchain waters. The global payment services firm has recently begun advertising three job listings for directors and a vice president in “blockchain product management.” The roles will lead the firms dive into cryptocurrency, “focusing on payments and wallet solutions,” The Block writes.
4. Samsung is forecasting a strong third quarter of the year, and has cryptocurrency to thank. According to the tech giant’s recent Q2 report , it is expecting sales of its High-Performance Computing chips – those used in ASIC mining machines – to increase. For Q2, Samsung‘s semiconductor business posted consolidated revenue of $13.26 billion, and an operating profit of $2.8 billion.
5. The Texas State Securities board has ordered an Australian firm to refund and repay investors after admitting to illegally selling unregistered securities. The firm from down under promised investors returns of up to 200 percent from its cryptocurrency mining business. The news comes almost 10 months after the Texan regulator slapped the firm with a cease-and-desist for making unrealistic promises.
Well there you have it, now go get on with your week.
