On March 23, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) updated its Know Your Customer (KYC) guidance on money services businesses (MSBs) and foreign money services businesses (FMSBs). FINTRAC classifies Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) as MSBs, meaning they too must comply…
During her confirmation hearing on January 19, Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s pick for Secretary of the Treasury, stated "many" cryptocurrencies are “a particular concern” when it comes to terrorism and criminal financing. This statement was in response to a question on how the US can curtail…
What investigators need so they can help recover your funds The rise of bitcoin doubler scams promoted through prominent social media channels marks a noticeable uptick in crypto scams targeting the general public, many of whom are likely unfamiliar with…
As the severity and sophistication of ransomware attacks continue to rise across various sectors around the world, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence issued two advisories to assist US individuals and businesses in efforts to combat ransomware scams…
SANCTIONS UPDATE: On September 16, 2020, two Russian nationals were added to OFAC’s SDN List for their involvement in a sophisticated phishing campaign that targeted customers of two US-based and one foreign-based virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in 2017 and…
SANCTIONS UPDATE: On September 10, 2020, four individuals were added to OFAC’s SDN List for attempting to influence the US electoral process. Three of the designated individuals were linked to supporting the cryptocurrency accounts of the Internet Research Agency (IRA)—a…
UPDATED 7/31 Three Charged for Role in Twitter Hack On July 31, three individuals were charged for their alleged roles in the July 15 Twitter hack— Mason Sheppard, aka “Chaewon,” 19, from the United Kingdom; Nima Fazeli, aka “Rolex,” 22,…
On July 15, Twitter accounts for multiple high-profile cryptocurrency exchanges, public figures, and various entities were taken over by hackers promoting a Bitcoin Doubler scam. Shortly after 12pm PST, the Twitter accounts for AngeloBTC, Binance, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, CoinDesk,…
CipherTrace has previously reported on North Korea using cybercrime to avert economic sanctions and raise hard cash to fund its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) development. For example, in August 2017, we revealed details of a then unreleased UN research…
SANCTIONS UPDATE: On March 2, 2020, the following two individuals and their associated digital currency addresses have been added to OFAC’s SDN List. The two Chinese nationals were involved in laundering stolen cryptocurrency from a 2018 cryptocurrency exchange hack and…