A fake crypto wallet app on Google Play Store deceived users for five months and stole over $70,000.
Hackers stole $750 million worth of crypto in Q3 2024 despite a decrease in hacking frequency,
The SEC filed an appeal against the 2023 ruling that partially favored Ripple in its XRP sales from 2017.
An upcoming HBO documentary is set to investigate the origins of Bitcoin and reveal Satoshi Nakamoto's identity on Wednesday.
The founder of the IcomTech Ponzi scheme which defrauded victims of $8.4 million was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The previous week did not disappoint regarding the usual barrage of events.
While the hackers dialed down their efforts somewhat, they still managed to steal about $70,000 worth of crypto via a scam app that managed to stay on the Google app store—for five months!
Speaking of hackers, a new CertiK report surfaced, showing that this cohort of bad actors stole a staggering $750 million in Q3 of 2024 alone.
In other news, the Ripple versus SEC saga is far from over.
The US agency filed a new appeal against the XRP issuers, seeking to overturn a ruling from 2023 that tagged the cryptocurrency as a non-security.
Finally, if an upcoming HBO documentary is to be believed, we just might find out who Satoshi Nakamoto is (or was).
Let’s go over some of the biggest events the web3 space had to offer in the previous week.
Researchers from Checkpoint Research unveiled a new type of scam last week.
Normally when hackers and malicious attackers release wallet-draining software, they do so using web or desktop interfaces.
However, in one of the first cases of a mobile-based wallet drainer, Checkpoint research pointed out a crypto wallet drainer on the Google Play store.
This app used what the research company describes as “advanced evasion techniques” to steal more than $70,000 from several users in five months.
The scam was so elaborate that the fake app posed as the legitimate WalletConnect app had fake reviews and even a 4.8/5 star rating before being taken down.
Google reviews for the scam app
But doesn’t the Google app store have security checkers in place against things like these?
The app store does. However, Checkpoint Research noted that the app contained no malicious software, other than a link to an external website.
When redirected to said website, users were prompted to connect their wallets which granted the attacker permission to steal it all.
Overall, this new kind of scam is a pointer to the importance of avoiding links from unknown sources.
On Tuesday last week, Certik revealed that even though the frequency of crypto hacks declined across the crypto sector in Q2, the amount of money bad actors stole in Q3 soared.
In its latest report, the research firm noted that hackers managed to steal $750 million across 155 incidents.
This brings the year's total losses to nearly $2 billion.
The report also identified phishing and private key compromise as the biggest attack vectors.
Both of these exploits accounted for $668 million in losses where Phishing alone saw $343 million stolen across 65 incidents.
One of the biggest cases was a private key compromise in which a single whale was robbed of $238 million in August.
This accounted for the most significant phishing attack for Q3 with most of the stolen funds remaining unaccounted for.
The crypto industry rejoiced when Judge Analisa Torres ruled partially in favor of Ripple in 2023.
The judge determined that the cryptocurrency was not a security in and of itself because it failed to satisfy all conditions according to the Howey test.
Considering this Howey test determination, Torres ruled that the 2017 secondary cryptocurrency sales cannot be labeled as unregistered securities.
At the same time, the sales from the Ripple founders to institutional investors counted as securities in what turned out to be a partial victory for Ripple.
Last week, however, the SEC appealed the "partial victory" decision and is seeking to overturn Torres' decision.
The appeal filing
Put simply, the US agency wants the 2017 sales of XRP to be termed as a full unregistered security sale.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse commented on the decision, vowing to fight against the agency’s latest moves for as long as possible.
So far, Lawyer Fred Rispoli predicts that the industry might see this new fight rage on for the next year and a half.
Therefore, a resolution is likely to come in around 2026.
Another interesting development in the crypto space is from HBO.
The entertainment company is set to collaborate with documentary filmmaker, Cullen Hoback to release a documentary on 8 October.
This documentary, titled “Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery” investigates the origins of Bitcoin.
It also appears to be geared towards tracking down the true identity of “Satoshi Nakamoto”, Bitcoin’s creator.
This investigation into Nakamoto’s real identity has sparked curiosity in the crypto space:
Especially since this mysterious figure went silent online around December 2010.
So far, some of the biggest candidates for the possible Satoshi Nakamoto name include Len Sassaman, Hal Finney and Nick Szabo.
Len Sassaman in particular, is an interesting candidate.
This legendary cryptographer passed away in 2011, right around the same time Nakamoto went offline.
Linguistics analysis has also found links between Satoshi Nakamoto’s writing style in the Bitcoin whitepaper and Sassaman’s.
The speculation has been so loud, that PolyMarket bettors have put a 51% chance on the HBO documentary identifying Sassaman as Nakamoto.
The IcomTech’s “Ponzi scheme" raked in around $8.4 million from victims with David Carmona as its mastermind.
This scheme targeted working-class people by promising them “complete financial freedom”
All they had to do was “part with their hard-earned money,” according to US Attorney Damian Williams.
Carmona told investors the funds would be used for ”crypto trading and mining activities”
He also said that their profits would double every six months in what ultimately turned out to be a near-$10 million Ponzi.
Carmona and other IcomTech marketers frequently traveled around the US and other countries. They'd hold "lavish expos" as a way to incite greed in people and have them join the Ponzi scam.
They would frequently drive fancy automobiles, dress in fancy clothing, and brag about their income while promising investors that they too could achieve the same.
Ultimately, last week, Carmona was given a 121-month prison term (ten years behind bars) as well as three years of supervised release.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.