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12 résultats taggé Bitcoin  ✕
Attorney General Schwalb Sues Crypto ATM Operator for Financially Exploiting District Residents https://oag.dc.gov/release/attorney-general-schwalb-sues-crypto-atm-operator
16/09/2025 17:52:35
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oag.dc.gov September 8, 2025
Lawsuit Alleges That 93% of Deposits to Athena Bitcoin, Inc. Are From Scams That Target Vulnerable Residents & Seniors & That Athena Profits from Illegal, Hidden Fees

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today sued Athena Bitcoin, Inc. (Athena), one of the country’s largest operators of Bitcoin Automated Teller Machines (BTMs), for charging undisclosed fees on deposits that it knows are often the result of scams, and for failing to implement adequate anti-fraud measures. When users discover they have been scammed and seek refunds, Athena imposes a strict “no refunds” policy on their entire transactions—even failing to return the significant undisclosed fees it collects from scam victims.

An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) showed that Athena BTMs appeal to criminals because Athena fails to provide effective oversight, creating an unchecked opportunity for illicit international fraud. Athena BTMs are most frequently used by scammers targeting elderly users who are less familiar with cryptocurrency and less likely to report fraud. According to the company’s own data from its first five months of operations in the District:

93% of all Athena BTM deposits were the direct result of scams;

Nearly half of all deposits were flagged to Athena as the product of fraud;

Victims’ median age was 71; and

The median amount lost per scam transaction was $8,000, with one victim losing a total of $98,000 in nineteen transactions over a period of several days.
“Athena’s bitcoin machines have become a tool for criminals intent on exploiting elderly and vulnerable District residents,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “Athena knows that its machines are being used primarily by scammers yet chooses to look the other way so that it can continue to pocket sizable hidden transaction fees. Today we’re suing to get District residents their hard-earned money back and put a stop to this illegal, predatory conduct before it harms anyone else.”

Athena is one of the country’s largest BTM operators and has maintained seven BTMs in the District. BTMs allow users to purchase cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin with cash and then deposit the cryptocurrency into a digital “wallet.” The wallet should be owned by the consumer purchasing the cryptocurrency, but in the scams conducted with Athena’s machines, exploited users send large sums of money directly to swindlers.

OAG’s lawsuit alleges Athena violates the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act and Abuse, Neglect, and Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults and the Elderly Act by:

Facilitating financial scams. Athena is well aware that the safeguards it has implemented are insufficient to protect customers from fraud. Athena’s own logs show that during its first five months of operation in the District, 48% of all funds deposited in the company’s BTMs resulted in consumers reporting directly to Athena that they had been the victim of a scam.

Illegally profiting from hidden fees. Athena BTMs charge District consumers fees of up to 26% per transaction without clearly disclosing them at any point in the process. Bitcoin purchased through other apps and exchanges typically have fees of 0.24% to 3%. In June 2024, Athena added a confusing and misleading reference to a “Transaction Service Margin” in its lengthy Terms of Service, but the magnitude of the margin is never disclosed, nor is the word “fee” ever mentioned.

Refusing to refund victims of fraud. Athena further deceives users through a refund policy that either outright denies scam victims refunds or arbitrarily caps them, even though Athena could easily return the hidden transaction fees it pockets. Athena also requires fraud victims to sign a release that frees the company of all future liability and blames victims for not sufficiently heeding onscreen BTM warnings.
With this lawsuit, OAG seeks to force Athena to bring Athena’s operations into compliance with District law, secure restitution for victims, and penalties for the District.

A copy of the lawsuit is available here.

This case is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Anabel Butler and Jason Jones, Investigator Lu Lagravinese, and Civil Rights and Elder Justice Section Chief Alicia M. Lendon.

Resources for District Residents

Elder financial abuse is all too common and largely underreported. It happens to people across all socioeconomic backgrounds and can be perpetrated by anyone having a connection to the senior resident, whether through a family, personal, or business relationship. Elders or vulnerable adults may be hesitant to report abuse because of fear of retaliation or lack of physical or cognitive ability to report the abuse, or because they do not want to get the alleged abuser in trouble.

Resources to help residents learn how to detect, prevent, and report abuse of the elderly or vulnerable adults are available here.

oag.dc.gov EN 2025 US Attorney General Schwalb Sues Crypto ATM Operator Athena Bitcoin
Bitcoin Depot breach exposes data of nearly 27,000 crypto users https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/bitcoin-depot-breach-exposes-data-of-nearly-27-000-crypto-users/
13/07/2025 22:51:37
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Bitcoin Depot, an operator of Bitcoin ATMs, is notifying customers of a data breach incident that has exposed their sensitive information.
In the letter sent to affected individuals, the company informs that it first detected suspicious activity on its network last year on June 23.

Although the internal investigation was completed on July 18, 2024, a parallel investigation by federal agencies dictated that public disclosure of the incident should be withheld until it was completed.

“On July 18, 2024, the investigation was complete, and we identified your personal information contained within documents related to certain of our customers that the unauthorized individual obtained,” explains Bitcoin Depot in the letter.

“Unfortunately, we were not able to inform you sooner due to an ongoing investigation. Federal law enforcement requested that Bitcoin Depot wait to provide you notice until after they completed the investigation.”

The type of data that has been exposed in this incident varies from individual to individual and may include:

Full name
Phone number
Driver’s license number
Address
Date of birth
Email address
Bitcoin Depot is one of the largest Bitcoin ATM networks in the United States, operating 8,800 machines in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

bleepingcomputer EN 2025 Bitcoin Bitcoin-Depot Customer-Data Data-Breach Notification
US man who hacked SEC's X account to spike Bitcoin price sentenced to prison | TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/16/us-man-who-hacked-secs-x-account-to-spike-bitcoin-price-sentenced-to-prison/
18/05/2025 12:13:33
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US man who hacked SEC’s X account to spike Bitcoin price sentenced to prison
Eric Council Jr., 26, was sentenced to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release on Friday for participating in the hack of the official X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the sentencing in a press release. Council and other hackers took over the SEC’s X account in 2024 to falsely announce that the agency had approved Bitcoin exchange traded funds, or ETFs, which shot up the price of the cryptocurrency before later dropping.

According to the DOJ, Council and his co-conspirators performed a SIM swap attack against the cellphone account of a person who had access to the SEC’s X account, which allowed the hackers to take control of their phone number. From there, the hackers reset the password of the SEC’s X account, granting them control of the account.

techcrunch EN 2025 SEC Twitter hacked bitcoin US prison
TodoSwift Disguises Malware Download Behind Bitcoin PDF https://www.kandji.io/blog/todoswift-disguises-malware-download-behind-bitcoin-pdf
24/08/2024 12:18:51
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A new piece of malware that we're calling TodoSwift downloads its malicious payload alongside a seemingly legitimate piece of content about cryptocurrency.

kandji EN 2024 TodoSwift Malware Bitcoin PDF
How Researchers Cracked an 11-Year-Old Password to a $3 Million Crypto Wallet | WIRED https://www.wired.com/story/roboform-password-3-million-dollar-crypto-wallet/
29/05/2024 18:16:15
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Thanks to a flaw in a decade-old version of the RoboForm password manager and a bit of luck, researchers were able to unearth the password to a crypto wallet containing a fortune.

wired EN 2024 RoboForm cryptocurrency bitcoin cracked password wallet
El Salvador: Hackers leak code of state Bitcoin wallet https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvador-hacks-leak-state-bitcoin-wallet
26/04/2024 08:22:35
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After leaking the entire database of Chivo users in early April, the hacker group CiberInteligenciaSV started releasing the wallet’s code.

cointelegraph EN 2024 CiberInteligenciaSV leak wallet Bitcoin El-Salvador
Hackers Behind the Change Healthcare Ransomware Attack Just Received a $22 Million Payment https://www.wired.com/story/alphv-change-healthcare-ransomware-payment/
04/03/2024 19:14:36
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The transaction, visible on Bitcoin's blockchain, suggests the victim of one of the worst ransomware attacks in years may have paid a very large ransom.

wired EN 2024 ransomware bitcoin blockchain crime healthcare ALPHV Alphv-BlackCat
GGerman police seizes $2.17 billion in bitcoin in 'most extensive' action ever https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-police-seizes-217-billion-bitcoin-most-extensive-action-ever-2024-01-30/?user_email=9e19aa6ed986d20195d4113ba5a6a3e709c18e0549688aa9b20d5f2e8d0dec05
30/01/2024 22:09:07
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German police have confiscated 50,000 bitcoin worth $2.17 billion in the country's 'most extensive' cryptocurrency seizure ever, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
"This is the most extensive seizure of bitcoins by law enforcement authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany to date," police in the city of Dresden said.
The investigation was supported by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the FBI and a Munich-based forensic IT expert company, it said.

reuters EN 2024 seizure bitcoin Germany confiscated
SEC Has Not Approved Bitcoin ETFs, but Its Hacked X Account Briefly Said Otherwise https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/01/09/sec-twitter-compromised-chair-gensler-says-after-account-said-bitcoin-etfs-approved/
10/01/2024 08:30:47
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The X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is deciding whether to approve bitcoin ETFs, "was compromised," the regulator told CoinDesk.

coindesk EN 2024 SEC x Twitter account compromised hacked bitcoin
Meet the Creator of North Korea’s Favorite Crypto Privacy Service https://www.wired.com/story/sinbad-crypto-mixer-north-korean-hackers/
11/02/2023 23:08:19
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The world’s most prolific crypto thieves have used Sinbad.io to launder tens of millions. Its creator, “Mehdi,” answers WIRED’s questions.

cryptocurrency dark-web bitcoin hacking crime Sinbad.io mixer DPRK
A new botnet Orchard Generates DGA Domains with Bitcoin Transaction Information https://blog.netlab.360.com/a-new-botnet-orchard-generates-dga-domains-with-bitcoin-transaction-information/
09/08/2022 13:07:41
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DGA is one of the classic techniques for botnets to hide their C2s, attacker
only needs to selectively register a very small number of C2 domains, while for
the defenders, it is difficult to determine in advance which domain names will
be generated and registered.

netlab360 EN 2022 Orchard botnet C2 bitcoin domains
Dutch university wins big after Bitcoin ransom returned https://m.dw.com/en/dutch-university-wins-big-after-bitcoin-ransom-returned/a-62337229?s=09
04/07/2022 08:41:19
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Maastricht University has doubled its money thanks to a ransomware attack three years ago. The university plans to help struggling students with its new funds.

dw 2022 EN Bitcoin ransom returned Maastricht University
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