On-chain detective ZachXBT has shared details of the massive crypto Ponzi scheme that took over $150 million from unsuspecting victims before collapsing last week. Related Reading: Bitcoin Targets $86,000 After Key EMA Reclaim: Is The Next Rally Here? The Mechanics Behind The $150M Crypto Ponzi In a series of X posts, ZachXBT unveiled the details of a Ponzi scheme that had been operating under the DSJ Exchange (DSJEX), a fake trading platform, and BG Wealth Sharing, a fraudulent investment scheme, since 2025. The scam involved a fake CEO named Stephen Beard, a self-proclaimed professor who represented the platform to the public. According to the Tuesday thread, DSJEX and BG Wealth advertised daily returns of 1.3%–2.6%, with referral commissions and rank-based bonuses. In addition, Beard pushed recruitment and fake trading signals through a group on Hong Kong messaging app BonChat. The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) recently explained that investors used these trading signals on the DSJ exchange and were led to believe that the crypto investments were generating returns. BG Wealth and DSJ claimed to be licensed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but the DFI found that neither of the forms filed by these companies indicated that they were registered with the SEC. Thirteen regulators across five continents had issued public fraud warnings about the firms, including the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Philippines’ SEC, and Washington’s DFI. On April 23, US law enforcement seized one of BG Wealth’s domains as part of a joint operation conducted by Operation Level Up and the Scam Center Strike Force. However, the scam continued to operate for roughly another week. Last Saturday, Beard posted a video affirming that DSJEX would soon go public and demanded a 12% “tax” on account balances as a prerequisite for the regulatory process. But the scammers had already disabled withdrawals by this point. Tether, Exchanges Freeze $41.5M After the US authorities’ involvement, the malicious actors laundered over $92 million in crypto assets across chains. ZachXBT noted that the scammers regularly rotated between domains and hot wallets to evade law enforcement. Between April 27 and May 3, the crypto funds were laundered through token swaps, bridging via Bridgers, Butter Network, and USDT0, wrapping and unwrapping USDD, and consolidation of transactions across hundreds of addresses. The crypto sleuth traced the millions in outflows through a timing analysis, located Solana/Tron deposits to Binance, and found matching Tron withdrawals. Then, he provided details to the relevant parties, including Tether, the Binance security team, OKX, and US law enforcement. As a result, Tether froze $38.4 million on May 4, while another $3.1 million was frozen at various crypto services and exchanges, bringing the total to $41.5 million. Related Reading: Why is Crypto Up Today? Bitcoin Price Faces ‘Real Test’ At This Key Level Despite the significant recovery, the on-chain detective noted that the scam’s $150 million assessment is “likely significantly higher since the scheme has been operating since 2025, with thousands of victim exchange withdrawals identified.” Ultimately, he advised victims of DSJEX and BG Wealth’s scheme to file a police report in their jurisdiction to aid global investigations and potential restitution from laundered proceeds. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) is warning that a “new and powerful” iOS exploit kit, dubbed Coruna by its developers has been deployed on fake finance and crypto websites designed to lure iPhone users into visiting pages that can silently deliver exploits. For crypto holders, the risk is blunt: GTIG’s analysis shows the campaigns ultimately focused on harvesting seed phrases and wallet data from popular mobile apps. Coruna targets Apple devices running iOS 13.0 through iOS 17.2.1, bundling five full exploit chains and 23 exploits. GTIG says it recovered the kit after tracking its evolution across 2025, from early use by a customer of a commercial surveillance company, to “watering hole” attacks on compromised Ukrainian websites, and finally to broad-scale distribution via Chinese-language scam sites tied to a financially motivated actor it tracks as UNC6691. A Crypto Lure Designed For iPhones In the scam-wave phase, GTIG says it observed the JavaScript framework behind Coruna deployed across a “very large set” of fake Chinese websites largely themed around finance. One example cited by GTIG is a fake WEEX-branded crypto exchange page that tried to push visitors onto an iOS device—after which a hidden iFrame would be injected to deliver the exploit kit “regardless of their geolocation.” Related Reading: CFTC Chair Says Crypto Perps Approval Is Close — Why This Is Huge For Hyperliquid? The delivery mechanics matter because they blur the line between traditional phishing and outright device compromise: in GTIG’s telling, simply arriving on the booby-trapped page from a vulnerable iPhone was enough to begin the chain. The framework fingerprints the device to identify model and iOS version, then loads the appropriate WebKit remote code execution exploit and a pointer authentication (PAC) bypass. GTIG tied one WebKit RCE it recovered to CVE-2024-23222, noting it was addressed by Apple in iOS 17.3 on Jan. 22, 2024. At the end of the chain, GTIG says Coruna drops a stager it calls PlasmaLoader (tracked as PLASMAGRID) and describes it as focused less on classic surveillance features and more on stealing financial information. According to GTIG, the payload can decode QR codes from images stored on the device and scan text blobs for BIP39 word sequences, along with keywords such as “backup phrase” and “bank account”, including in Apple Memos, which it can then exfiltrate. Related Reading: Crypto’s Quietest Month In Nearly A Year — But Hackers Haven’t Gone Away The payload is also modular. GTIG says it can pull down and run additional modules remotely, and that many of the identified modules are designed to hook functions and exfiltrate sensitive information from common crypto wallet apps—among them MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Uniswap’s wallet, Phantom, Exodus, and TON ecosystem wallets such as Tonkeeper. The broader arc was also flagged by mobile security firm iVerify, which published its own findings around the same time as GTIG’s report. “And that’s exactly what happened again here, but on mobile devices. Phone OEMs do as good a job as anyone can do…” What Crypto Users Can Do Now Google says Coruna “is not effective against the latest version of iOS,” and urges users to update. If updating isn’t possible, GTIG recommends enabling Apple’s Lockdown Mode. GTIG also says it added the identified websites and domains to Google Safe Browsing to help reduce further exposure. For crypto-native users, the immediate takeaway is practical: mobile wallets sit at the intersection of high-value assets and high-frequency web traffic, which makes “visit-to-compromise” campaigns uniquely dangerous. GTIG’s reporting suggests the scam funnel wasn’t just about getting victims to connect wallets, it was about getting them onto the right device, on the right iOS version, so exploitation could do the rest. At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.45 trillion. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Uniswap founder Hayden Adams has raised urgent concerns about fraudulent advertisements impersonating the decentralized exchange after a crypto investor reportedly lost a mid-six-figure portfolio in a phishing attack. The warning highlights a growing wave of crypto scam ads, phishing websites, and malicious sponsored search results targeting users searching for “Uniswap” and other major DeFi platforms. …
A U.S. court sentenced Jingliang Su, a 45-year-old Chinese national, to 46 months in federal prison for laundering more than $36.9 million from a crypto investment scam. The scheme, run from Cambodia, targeted 174 Americans. U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner also ordered Su to pay $26.8 million in restitution. Su pleaded guilty in June …
Crypto scams hit an all-time high in 2025, with AI-driven schemes causing massive losses, Chainalysis reports. Illicit addresses received over $14B, likely crossing $17B as more wallets are tracked. Impersonation scams surged 1,400% YoY, while AI-linked groups made 4.5× more money with 9× the daily transactions. Industrialized “Lighthouse” scam kits generated $1.5M over 3 years. …
A crypto whale has lost more than $282 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC) after falling victim to a hardware wallet social engineering scam, making it one of the largest personal crypto thefts ever reported. According to ZackXBT, the incident occurred on January 10, 2026, at approximately 11 PM UTC, when scammers tricked …
U.S. regulators have cracked down on a large crypto scam that used social media and messaging apps to lure unsuspecting investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged seven entities for allegedly running a coordinated scheme that siphoned more than $14 million from retail investors across the United States. According to the SEC, the …
Crypto scams are getting faster, smarter and harder to track. Lawmakers are now treating them as a growing national problem, and they want a coordinated federal response. This week, U.S. Senators Elissa Slotkin and Jerry Moran introduced a bipartisan bill aimed squarely at crypto-related fraud. The proposal, called the Strengthening Agency Frameworks for Enforcement of …
The crypto market is deep in the red, with a sharp sell-off dragging Bitcoin below the $90,000 mark to $89,390, its lowest level since April. What started as a routine correction has turned into a heavy downturn fueled by ETF outflows, whale-driven short positions, and thinning liquidity. Ethereum has lost its crucial $3,000 support, confirming …
Chain analysts and law enforcement are sounding the alarm about a type of fraud known as “pig-butchering,” in which criminals groom victims online and push them into fake crypto investments. Related Reading: XRP Earns Academic Praise: University Study Calls It ‘Gold In Your Hands’ According to Chainalysis, crypto scams sent close to $10 billion on-chain in 2024, with pig-butchering revenue growing almost 40% year-over-year and the number of deposits into those scams rising more than 200% — even as the average deposit size fell roughly 55%. These shifts point to a model that now relies on many more victims paying smaller amounts, making the operation both lucrative and hard to trace. Organized Networks Behind The Scams Investigators say these are not lone fraudsters. Reports have disclosed that scam networks operate like organized criminal enterprises, sometimes using trafficked workers in compounds to call, message and manage victims. Victim grooming can span weeks or months, turning emotional manipulation into a steady revenue stream for the gangs. Research and reporting have tied some of these operations to regions in Southeast Asia and to groups that move money through concentrated crypto wallets. AI And Marketplaces Help Scammers Scale Law enforcement and analysts warn that generative AI and service markets are making the pig butchering scams cheaper and faster to run. According to Chainalysis and multiple news outlets, AI tools are being used to create convincing chatbots, voice clones and fake profiles, while online marketplaces sell domain services and hosting that let scammers spin up lifelike investment sites. That combination has helped fraud operators widen their reach and target more people at once. Infrastructure And Sanctions Authorities have started to hit the infrastructure that supports the scams. The US Treasury’s OFAC sanctioned a Philippines-based firm, Funnull Technology Inc., and its alleged administrator for supplying internet infrastructure and tools used by fraud networks. Chainalysis and other researchers tied Funnull’s services to sites used in pig-butchering, and US losses linked to those operations were said to exceed $200 million in some investigations. Sanctions aim to cut off access to the web services scammers use to appear legitimate. Related Reading: Dogecoin Alert! Price Could Explode Over 2,800%, Analyst Says Exchanges And Stablecoin Issuers Help Freeze Illicit Funds Private companies have been part of the response. In a coordinated effort with APAC law enforcement, Chainalysis, exchanges and stablecoin issuers helped trace and block nearly $47 million in USDT that had been consolidated by scammers into a few wallets. Earlier actions involving other cases led to much larger freezes. Those moves show how industry cooperation can stop some cash-outs before criminals convert crypto into fiat. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, widely known in the crypto community as “Crypto Mom,” has issued a strong warning after reports surfaced of scammers impersonating her on Telegram to promote fake coins and investment schemes. The impersonators have targeted unsuspecting investors, attempting to lure them into fraudulent cryptocurrency projects. A Fake “Crypto Mom” on Telegram Peirce …
The Pi Network community is on high alert after a moderator flagged a scam wallet linked to multiple thefts of Pi tokens. The exposure comes at a critical time, as the project prepares for a potential second token migration and doubles down on wallet security with fresh upgrades like PassKeys. Scam Wallet Exposed In a …
Entrepreneur Erik Bergman, widely known for his online transparency, revealed how he fell victim to a $1.25 million crypto scam. What began as a charitable donation quickly spiraled into one of the most elaborate frauds he has ever encountered. Fake MrBeast Charity Call Leads to Crypto Scam It started when Bergman received what seemed like …
Amid the controversial launch of Kanye West’s official memecoin on Solana, the crypto community has sounded the alarm for another potential celebrity token scam, with insider trading allegations outshining Ye’s party. Related Reading: Chainlink Eyes Crucial Resistance After $25 Reclaim – Breakout Or Breakdown Next? The Rise And Fall Of YZY On Wednesday night, controversial Hip-Hop artist and public figure Ye, better known as Kanye West, launched his official memecoin, YZY, on the Solana blockchain. West announced the token in his X account, posting the contract address (CA) in a picture with the caption “YEEZY MONEY IS HERE. A NEW ECONOMY, BUILT ON CHAIN.” After the announcement, the memecoin skyrocketed to a market capitalization of $3.1 billion before quickly dropping 65% to the $1.1 billion mark in the following hours. Meanwhile, YZY’s price went from an all-time high (ATH) of $3.16 to hover between the $0.95-$1.30 price range. The crypto community reported multiple red flags, including allegations of insider trading and a lawsuit waiver. Notably, the official website has a controversial waiver that raised concerns among investors. In the “What Else Should I Know?” section, the website stated that by purchasing the token, investors agree they “will not bring, join or participate in any class action lawsuit as to any claim, dispute or controversy” that they may have against any of the “Covered Parties.” “if you’re buying this ur literally giving them permission to rug you without consequences,” a community member noted. Nonetheless, investors may opt out of the dispute resolution provision by “providing written notice of your decision within thirty (30) days of the date that you first access the Website,” the page reads. Ye’s Memecoin Supply Owned By Insiders Conor Grogan, director at Coinbase, estimated that at least 94% of the supply was owned by insiders, with 87% of the token being held by a single multisig wallet before it was distributed to multiple wallets. According to the “YZYNOMICS”, 20% of the token’s distribution would be for public supply, 10% for liquidity, and 70% for Yeezy Investments LLC. On-chain analytics firm Bubblemaps affirmed that “the bubble map of YZY mostly MATCHES the distribution on Kanye’s website,” cautioning that “the 17% address ‘public supply’ is UNLOCKED and can sell at any time.” Lookonchain highlighted that only YZY had been added to the liquidity pool, with no USDC, warning that the “Dev may sell YZY by adding/removing liquidity, similar to LIBRA.” Additionally, they noted that multiple insider wallets had prepared funds in advance and bought the memecoin, with one address knowing the CA and attempting to purchase YZY yesterday. The on-chain wallet tracker also cautioned that West had added 30 million YZY, worth $34 million, to the liquidity pool with a price range of $3.17-$4.49, signaling that “once the price climbs above $3.1716, he’ll start earning fees while gradually selling YZY for USDC. If the price rises above $4.4929, all 30M YZY will be sold.” Investors See Red Numbers On-chain researcher Defioasis affirmed that the YZY launch was “more of the same,” revealing that, so far, most wallets holding West’s memecoin are in the red. According to their analysis, 56,050 addresses traded the token in the past 13 hours, with 25,166, or 44.9% of the wallets, engaging in one-sided transactions. Out of these addresses, 23,723 only bought the memecoin, while 1,443 only sold it. They suggested that “some of the former may be dust addresses aimed at increasing the number of addresses, while others are either holding onto their positions or stuck in losses,” adding, “The latter are primarily project teams/large holders using multiple addresses to sell, making it harder to track them directly.” Related Reading: Bitcoin Risks Drop Below $110,000 Despite Bounce – Is A 15% Pullback Coming? Meanwhile, 30,884 addresses had two-way transactions, with 38.07% of addresses registering realized profits. 30% of these wallets had a profit of up to $500, while only 1.31% of them had profits exceeding $10,000. Among this 1%, only 5 addresses had over $1 million in profits, with one of them being identified as an insider. On the contrary, over 60% of participants are still in a loss position, the report noted, with 28.2% of the addresses losing up to $500. By the time of the Defioasis post, one individual had lost over $1 million, while another had lost around half a million. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
The cryptocurrency world has witnessed its share of scandals—from the $1.4B Bybit hack in 2025 to the $8.9B FTX collapse in 2022. Now, another shocking case has surfaced—Pica Coin fraud, involving $24 million in alleged embezzlement and a surprising celebrity connection. The case has rocked South Korea’s crypto space, affecting more than 14,000 investors. But …
On July 7, the Shenzhen Municipal Task Force Office for Preventing and Combating Illegal Financial Activities issued a stern warning to the people of China regarding the risks associated with stablecoin and digital assets, urging citizens to avoid unregulated schemes. Shenzhen Government Warns About Rising Stablecoin Scams As digital currencies, especially stablecoins, continue to receive …
Australian authorities busted a $123-million crypto fraud. The scheme used seemingly legit businesses for crypto money laundering.
On June 25, Europol announced a major breakthrough as Spanish Guardia Civil, with support from law enforcement in the U.S., Estonia, and France, dismantled an international crypto fraud network that scammed over 5,000 victims across Europe and beyond. The Fraud Operation The criminal gang operated via a Hong Kong-based front company that posed as a …
In the latest development for the ongoing LIBRA coin legal saga, Argentinian newspaper La Nacion reports that Hayden Mark Davis, CEO of Kelsier Ventures, submitted a voluntary statement last Monday to a federal court in New York. The case centers on a class action lawsuit brought by U.S. investors who suffered losses following the rapid […]
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Australia’s major crypto crackdown has taken an unexpected turn. On Wednesday, a nationwide law enforcement operation targeting crypto ATMs identified 90 individuals linked to suspected scams—only to discover most were actually victims, not offenders. Despite tightening regulations, Australia continues to battle rising crypto ATM scams. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), in collaboration …
The latest memecoin hype around Russian influencer Hasbulla’s new token BULLA is turning sour as serious concerns have been raised by well-known crypto voices. The coin, which raised around 20 million dollars, is now being accused of scamming early investors, with critics warning that history may be repeating itself. Hasbulla raised $20M for a memecoin …
ZachXBT has strongly denied James Wynn’s claim that a conspiracy group is using his name to launch scam tokens at price peaks. He accused James of repeatedly running similar meme coin scams on his own followers over the years. Back in July 2024, Dylan accused James of getting 2% of the Babypepe token supply and …
On April 9, Argentina’s House of Representatives voted 128–93 to create a special committee to investigate the LIBRA memecoin scandal involving President Javier Milei. The resolution follows rising concerns over the alleged misuse of cryptocurrency linked to the president. Lawmakers aim to uncover the full scope of the situation and determine if any misconduct occurred. …
Scam emails are making the rounds in the crypto community, falsely claiming that Gemini is filing for bankruptcy. These emails, coming from suspicious addresses, misleadingly state that a 2024 security breach compromised $1.2 billion in the exchange’s cold storage reserves. The fraudsters further claim that operational and regulatory challenges are forcing Gemini into bankruptcy protection. …
As cryptocurrency grows in popularity, so do scams targeting unsuspecting investors. Fraudsters create fake trading platforms, promise huge returns, and manipulate users into depositing funds—only to steal the money. Authorities worldwide are cracking down on these schemes, recovering stolen funds, and urging victims to come forward. DOJ Recovers $7M From Crypto Scam The U.S. Department …
After a long legal tug-of-war under Biden’s leadership, Ripple is finally catching a break. Reports suggest that President Donald Trump’s team is eyeing XRP as a key player in building a powerhouse Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. A new proposal submitted to the US SEC suggests that XRP could play a key role in boosting the US …
The LIBRA crypto scandal in Argentina has taken another shocking turn, with lawyer Gregorio Dalbon pushing for the arrest of Hayden Davis, the man accused of being behind the failed project. Dalbon has formally requested an Interpol Red Notice, which would help locate and detain Davis in the U.S. before extraditing him to Argentina. He …
Once celebrated as Australia’s “crown prince of Bitcoin,” Sam Lee is now in a legal scoop with both the SEC and the DOJ. The blockchain entrepreneur, who co-founded the HyperVerse and HyperFund crypto investment schemes, is facing fraud charges from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Prosecutors accuse …
In the strongest-ever move to uncover the infamous Gainbitcoin scam – allegedly orchestrated by Amit Bhardwaj (deceased) and Ajay Bhardwaj, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the central investigation agency of India, has conducted raids in at least 60 locations across the country and seized cryptos valued at approximately $2.75 million. Curious to know more details? …
LIBRA, a meme coin supported by Argentinian president Javier Gerardo Milei, has experienced a sharp drop of 42.7% in the last seven days. An on-chain data by Nansen, a leading on-chain analytics platform, shows that a significant number of traders have suffered huge losses. Though Milei has deleted the post published in support of the …