scams

According to FinanceFeeds, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has issued a warning that scammers are defrauding retail investors through messaging apps like WhatsApp and fake cryptocurrency trading platforms. Scammers typically post investment advice on social media to attract users to join message groups disguised as well-known financial figures or trading communities, then lure them into depositing funds into fake platforms. These platforms simulate profits by fabricating trading data, and when users attempt to withdraw funds, they are asked for additional "unlock fees," with all funds flowing directly into the scammers' accounts.Additionally, scammers are targeting investors who have already suffered losses by promoting fake "fund recovery services" for secondary fraud. According to Moneysmart survey data, 23% of Australians aged 18 to 28 hold cryptocurrency assets, 72% of Generation Z have seen cryptocurrency ads on social media, and 41% have been directly persuaded to invest in cryptocurrencies, indicating a significantly higher risk exposure among the younger demographic. ASIC advises investors to be cautious of investment advice on social media and recommends verifying the compliance qualifications of platforms through the AUSTRAC virtual asset service provider register.

According to GoPlus security alerts, phishing scams promoting black U and anti-money laundering detection websites have appeared on the X platform. Investigations reveal that the website is a phishing site hosted on the Vercel platform, aimed at tricking users into authorizing their wallets, so please do not interact.GoPlus recommends: try to avoid private transactions and use the OTC features of centralized exchanges; maintain a high level of suspicion towards unfamiliar links, especially those requiring wallet signatures or authorizations; remember the "four no choices" to prevent phishing: do not click on unfamiliar links, do not install software from unknown sources, do not sign transactions with unclear content, and do not transfer funds to unverified addresses.

XRPL developer Wietse Wind has issued a latest security warning to the XRP community, stating that recent scam activities targeting Xaman Wallet users are on the rise. Scammers are currently promoting fake desktop wallet applications and counterfeit airdrop activities to lure users into connecting their wallets or downloading malicious programs, thereby stealing funds. Wietse Wind reminds users not to connect their wallets to suspicious websites and not to download any unofficial applications to avoid asset loss.

XRPL developer Wietse Wind has issued a latest security warning to the XRP community, stating that there has been an increase in scam activities targeting Xaman Wallet users. Scammers are currently promoting fake desktop wallet applications and counterfeit airdrop activities to lure users into connecting their wallets or downloading malicious programs, thereby stealing funds.Wietse Wind reminds users not to connect their wallets to suspicious websites and not to download any unofficial applications to avoid asset loss.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) under the FBI in the United States has released data showing that in 2025, IC3 received over 13,400 complaints regarding the use of cryptocurrency kiosks, with losses exceeding $388 million. Compared to 2024, the number of complaints increased by 23%, and the amount of losses increased by 58%. More than half of the complaints involved individuals over the age of 50, with losses exceeding $302 million.Cryptocurrency kiosks are devices or electronic terminals similar to ATMs that allow users to exchange cash and cryptocurrency. Criminals may lure victims into sending money through cryptocurrency kiosks. In typical complaints received by IC3 regarding cryptocurrency kiosks, criminals provide individuals with detailed instructions on how to withdraw money from banks, how to locate kiosks, and how to use the kiosks for deposits and remittances. IC3 warns that the relevant statistics pertain to scam complaints involving cryptocurrency ATMs, and the overall losses may not be solely caused by cryptocurrency ATMs alone.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission issued a notice reminding the public to remain highly vigilant against scams that impersonate the Investor Compensation Fund. These scams often cause victims to suffer secondary losses. Scammers contact individuals who have previously suffered investment losses and falsely claim that the victims are eligible to recover losses from the compensation fund, demanding that they only need to pay an additional "deposit" or "fee" to arrange for the compensation fund to provide "compensation," resulting in many victims being defrauded a second time.The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission reminds the public that the Commission will not contact investors through social media or instant messaging platforms to request payments related to compensation claims.

"On-chain detective" ZachXBT posted on platform X, publicly criticizing Tokenlon and imToken, stating that they have become high-risk channels for illegal fund flows and indicating that further actions will be taken against the relevant platforms.It is claimed that most of Tokenlon's trading volume comes from "pig butchering," investment scams, and various illegal market activities, directly stating that its co-founder Ben He should "bear legal responsibility for the related actions." He mentioned that investigations and crackdowns on Tokenlon and the imToken system will continue in the future. Tokenlon lacks genuine trading demand outside of Southeast Asia, with a significant proportion of its on-chain activities related to illegal fund flows, and this issue has noticeably worsened since 2022.In addition, ZachXBT also named several so-called "offshore large trading and aggregation platforms," including Butter Network, HiFiSwap, and Tokenlon, stating that they should be subject to stricter regulation and crackdown due to potential criminal activities.

According to market news, a report released by the blockchain security company Hacken shows that Web3 projects lost a total of $464.5 million this quarter due to hacker attacks and scams, with phishing and social engineering attacks accounting for $306 million, becoming the main source of losses.A hardware wallet scam that occurred in January caused a loss of $282 million, accounting for 81% of the total quarterly losses. Smart contract vulnerabilities led to losses of $86.2 million, while access control failures (including breaches of keys and cloud services) caused losses of $71.9 million. The report points out that the largest security incidents often occur in off-chain operations and infrastructure layers, which traditional audits find difficult to cover. The European regulatory frameworks MiCA and DORA are increasing requirements for security monitoring and incident response, and global regulatory agencies are also raising standards for real-time monitoring and emergency response.

Binance announced its participation in the international law enforcement operation "Operation Atlantic," led by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), in collaboration with multiple countries' law enforcement agencies to combat cryptocurrency and investment fraud, focusing on "approval phishing" scams.The operation was jointly initiated by the NCA, the U.S. Secret Service, and relevant law enforcement and regulatory agencies in Ontario, Canada, aiming to identify victims who have been compromised or are at risk. Approval phishing typically disguises itself as an investment opportunity, luring users into granting wallet access permissions, thereby transferring assets. During the operation, Binance's special investigation team provided on-site support in London, including fraud identification processes, risk screening, and intelligence analysis, and assisted in identifying potential victims and related malicious websites.At the same time, Binance also provided law enforcement agencies with addresses and suspect intelligence related to the case, supporting asset tracking and enforcement actions. The NCA stated that this operation has successfully protected thousands of potential victims in the UK and overseas. Binance emphasized that it will continue to cooperate with global law enforcement agencies to strengthen the fight against cryptocurrency fraud.

According to CoinDesk, the Financial Services Commission of South Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service jointly issued new regulations requiring all domestic cryptocurrency exchanges to adopt a unified withdrawal delay review standard to curb voice phishing scams.The new regulations eliminate the authority of each exchange to set its own withdrawal exemption conditions, and reviews will be conducted uniformly based on standards such as account history, trading patterns, and behavioral anomalies. It is expected that less than 1% of users will qualify for instant withdrawals. Platforms must also enhance identity verification and fund flow monitoring.Previously, scam groups exploited the exemption rules of various platforms to guide victims to convert cash into cryptocurrency and complete withdrawals within minutes. This new regulation marks a shift in South Korea's cryptocurrency risk control system from industry self-regulation to a national unified standard.

The Department of Homeland Security's official account pointed out that "token scams" are emerging one after another, especially illegal financial activities such as "holding tokens to get rich" and "making profits from off-exchange trading," which may be exploited by foreign espionage and intelligence agencies to harm national economic security. In the face of new technologies and applications, we must actively embrace and effectively utilize them while also preventing risks and ensuring safety, including risks of leakage and hijacking, risks of forgery and tampering, and risks of fraud traps.In the face of the token craze, we must view its value rationally, pay attention to information security and privacy security, and enhance our awareness of safety precautions, ensuring that we understand tokens and use them wisely.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning that fake tokens impersonating the FBI have appeared on the Tron network, urging users to remain vigilant.The FBI's New York field office stated on social media that users who receive tokens claiming to be from the FBI in their wallets should exercise caution and never provide any personal identification information to related websites. According to disclosed information, these scams typically operate based on the TRC-20 token standard, where attackers send so-called "FBI tokens" to users' wallets and threaten to freeze assets under the pretext of violating anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, thereby inducing users to submit sensitive information and executing phishing attacks. The FBI also recommends that users report any suspicious activities through its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). It is currently unclear how many users have been affected.

Cybersecurity company CUJO AI has officially launched a network-layer cryptocurrency investment fraud detection capability designed for network service providers (NSP), which can identify fraudulent activities that bypass application layer and platform layer protections. CUJO AI stated that modern cryptocurrency investment scams often rely on rotating domain names, wallet interactions, and social engineering tactics, making it difficult for a single platform to grasp the full picture; the network layer is a key location where such threats are concentrated.According to Chainalysis data, global losses from cryptocurrency-related scams and fraud are estimated to reach $17 billion by 2025, with the majority of victims being ordinary users rather than institutional traders.

According to CoinDesk, law enforcement agencies from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada have jointly launched a multinational operation called "Operation Atlantic," focusing on combating "approval-phishing" scams targeting cryptocurrency users.The Ontario Securities Commission stated that these scams typically use pop-ups and prompts disguised as trustworthy applications or services to guide users into authorizing malicious wallet permissions. Once authorized, attackers can control the wallet and transfer assets. Data shows that cryptocurrency scams are expected to generate at least approximately $14 billion in on-chain illegal revenue by 2025, with the total scale potentially approaching $17 billion as more involved wallets are identified.Law enforcement agencies pointed out that current scam activities increasingly rely on social engineering, AI-generated content, and "Phishing-as-a-Service" platforms. The operation is being coordinated by multiple national law enforcement agencies, and regulators stated that the new initiative will help identify victim wallets, timely warn potential victims, and attempt to track and freeze stolen cryptocurrency assets to reduce the space for criminals to profit further.

The Digital Renminbi Operations Management Center officially announced three types of "scam" schemes: Scheme One is using "Digital Renminbi promotion" as a pretext to conduct pyramid scheme fraud. The Digital Renminbi has never engaged in activities such as "recruiting promoters," "promoter exams," "down codes," or "developing subordinates," and has never charged a 400 yuan/device installation service fee. Any recruitment of "civilian promoters" through group chats or offline and online meetings is a scam; Scheme Two is luring individuals to transfer money under the guise of "order brushing and rebates," and Scheme Three is tricking individuals into downloading counterfeit apps to steal information or funds.

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party representative Erin Koegel recently introduced bill HF 3642, aimed at banning the placement and operation of cryptocurrency kiosks statewide. The proposal stems from multiple reports of scams targeting the elderly by local law enforcement, with some victims facing severe financial difficulties as a result. The Minnesota Department of Commerce has stated it "strongly supports" the bill and plans to introduce a broader consumer protection proposal in the coming days.Reportedly, there are currently about 350 cryptocurrency ATMs operated by 8 to 10 companies in Minnesota. Last year, the state received 70 related complaints, reporting total losses of $540,000. The bill would repeal the existing regulatory framework established in 2024, including disclosure requirements and transaction limits.

According to Bleepingcomputer, Trezor and Ledger users have fallen victim to physical letter scams, where fraudsters impersonate official organizations to lure users into scanning QR codes that lead to phishing websites, and deceive them into providing their recovery phrases under the pretext of "identity verification checks" and "transaction checks," thereby facilitating the theft of cryptocurrency assets.

Binance founder CZ revealed that he discovered users on the social media platform X using AI-generated images to impersonate supporters who are closely associated with him.CZ pointed out that the account has 863,000 followers, used a photo from a BNB Chain event in Korea that he attended as a banner, and posted several AI-generated photos of him with CZ. By analyzing the details of the photos, such as the fact that he never wears blue or purple clothing, and the inconsistent resolution of the characters in the images, CZ identified these as forged images. The original photo was actually a picture with Aster CEO Leonard.CZ reminded the community to be vigilant against such potential scams, while also stating that the Binance team welcomes sincere constructive feedback.

The community has announced that the official Solar X account (https://x.com/Solana_zh) is suspected to have been hacked, and the account is currently unable to log in. They are urgently contacting the platform for resolution.Solar has also issued a risk warning to the community, stating that during this period, any requests for information, funds, or sensitive operations made in the name of Solar on the X platform are fraudulent. Community users are reminded not to be deceived.