Category: Scams

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Crypto News Gaming Play to Earn Scams Solana

NFT Metaverse Game Star Atlas Releases Roadmap, but No Sign of the Actual Game

Star Atlas is one of the most anticipated play-to-earn games in the crypto gaming space, with users already owning thousands of dollars’ worth of in-game assets. However, while the project boasts a beautiful website and fully functioning marketplace, there’s no game or even Alpha build to be seen.

Hosted on the Solana (SOL) blockchain, Star Atlas has attracted considerable hype based on the concepts and possibilities of what’s quite literally a game-changer. The game incorporates some of the latest graphical innovations, such as Unreal Engine 5 and Nanite technology that allows for the creation of worlds at unprecedented scale and detail. Players can own in-game assets (planets, ships, parts/items, in-game resources) with real-world value, either to be used in the game or sold on the marketplace.

The fact that there is no actual game build to be seen leads some to believe the game might end up the same way Earth 2 did. In that case, developers made claims of creating an exact virtual replica of Earth, comparable to a metaverse like “Ready player one or the Matrix”, allowing people to buy virtual land that might attract future value. Yet years later, the game is still in development and has been called a scam and Ponzi scheme by many.

Technology May Be Still Some Way Off

BigFry, a prominent YouTuber best-known for talking about “shady” developers and publishers in the gaming space, has taken a crack at Star Atlas, pointing out some of the aspects that could be an indication of a scam. As he says, it’s much easier to start a marketing campaign than to build a metaverse. Many times in the past developers have over-promised and under-delivered, with BigFry also stating that he thinks the technology required to build a game like this is still far away.

Star Atlas Is Not Your Average Game

Star Citizen had the same problem with lots of content but no game builds ever piercing the veil, with some some believing Star Atlas could be on the same road. There are more than 250 players already on the leaderboards, with the top-ranking player owning over US$800K in total in-game assets.

According to a YouTube interview with Star Atlas founder Michael Wagner, the project aims to break the mould in the industry by creating a metaverse where the aim is not just to play a game, but to construct an economy where gamers, entrepreneurs and people who want to work to earn money can come together and empower each other.

This is one of the main reasons why the game is being developed economy first, to allow players to understand the mechanics as well as to build all the systems from scratch on the blockchain. After slowly onboarding players to the marketplace and intricacies of the economy, actually playing the game comes next. At the moment there is a mini-game available where players can craft loot. Additionally, Wagner says that one of the first gameplay mechanics to be released will be the ship mission, available on May 31, 2022.

There are other works in progress such as character models and environments which can show for something, but that’s an easy task for a team of designers. Wagner says that in January 2022 there will be a digital showroom with interactable character models created with the new gaming engine, and where players can view their created NFTs.

In the meantime, the company has published a roadmap to assure investors and future players that everything is still on track:

It remains to be seen how the project will develop, but according to the roadmap the game’s 3D browser version is a “fully charted game map [Star Atlas] viewable and playable in-browser. This also unlocks coordinates for ship missions, exploration, and mining actual owned land claims”, scheduled for release on July 31, 2022.

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Crime Crypto Art Crypto News NFTs Scams

Adobe Photoshop to Add ‘Prepare as NFT’ Feature to Help Verify Art Authenticity

An unfortunate side-effect of the booming non-fungible token (NFT) market is that scammers are grabbing the opportunity to exploit it. In an effort to combat NFT art theft, Adobe will soon launch a “prepare as NFT” option to its Photoshop software.

Adobe’s Content Credential is a system built into Photoshop that can assist in proving that the person selling an NFT is the one who made it. The system will allow NFT sellers to link the Adobe ID with their crypto wallets, thereby allowing compatible NFT marketplaces to show a verification certificate to prove the art is authentic.

Fighting Theft in an Exploitable Market

Art theft has become rife in the NFT industry, chiefly because anybody can mint an NFT – even if they don’t own the content’s copyright. As it stands, there is not much the blockchain can do to stop this. Earlier this month, a 17-year-old 3D artist promised to deliver 8,000 NFT artworks but disappeared with US$500,000, leaving investors with the rug pulled right out from under them.

To help prevent similar events, Adobe’s authentication system is designed to counter an otherwise highly exploitable market. Scott Belsky, Adobe’s chief product officer, revealed in a recent Megaphone interview that the new feature will preview by the end of October.

The Content Credential attribution data will live on an InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a decentralised method of hosting files where a network of people, rather than a single company or entity, is responsible for safeguarding data and making it available.

According to Adobe, NFT marketplaces such as Rarible, OpenSea, KnownOrigin and SuperRare will be able to integrate with its attribution data system.

To further enhance NFT copyright security, Crypto News Australia recently published a guide to the best 10 NFT websites to buy digital collectibles.

This system doesn’t make it harder to mint an NFT of media you don’t own the rights to, but it could make that NFT less attractive to the market.

Scott Belsky, chief product officer, Adobe

While Adobe concedes that it is still possible to click on an existing image of an NFT and mint it again, and that this may still fool buyers, it says its new system at least provides a means to prove that if you are selling an NFT, it is not stolen.

Twitter Gets on the Verification Train

Twitter recently announced it would be rolling out Bitcoin Tips, but is also looking into plans to integrate NFTs into its workings. The social media giant has said that it intends to “explore NFTs for authentication”.

According to Twitter executive Esther Crawford, “it’s a way to support creators making this art with a stamp to demonstrate authenticity”, and that “by allowing people to connect their bitcoin wallets, they can track and showcase their NFT ownership on Twitter”.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Scams United Kingdom

Police Seize 48 BTC from 16-Year-Old Kid Who Ran Copycat Website of ‘Love2Shop’

Police in the Midlands county of Lincolnshire in the UK have seized US$2.9 million in bitcoin from a 16-year-old boy who scammed thousands of victims after extracting their personal details via a copycat website.

Just as Covid lockdown restrictions were imposed in Britain last year, the teenager launched a fraudulent copy of Love2Shop, a gift voucher platform. He then used Google Advertising to heighten the website’s profile, prompting unsuspecting consumers to visit his page instead.

Victims Numbered At Least 12,000

From here, many victims unwittingly entered their email addresses and passwords, enabling thefts to take place. A police investigation uncovered more than 12,000 credit card numbers on the teenager’s computer, as well as 197 PayPal accounts.

In the meantime, his fake vouchers had spread far and wide, as police issued warnings to retailers to be on the lookout for them:

The court was told the teenager took the site down after a week, just as Love2Shop began investigating following a complaint from a customer.

Ill-Gotten Gains Sunk into 48 Bitcoin

The scammer, who cannot be named due to his legal status as a minor, had invested much of his ill-gotten gains into cryptocurrency, and detectives were stunned to discover he had a balance of 48 bitcoin, worth almost US$3 million at the time of writing.

The teenager, currently studying for his final school exams, admitted to charges of money laundering and fraud committed in April 2020. He was sentenced to 150 hours of community service with no conviction recorded, and a confiscation order was imposed on his crypto.

In a masterful example of stating the glaringly obvious, Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight told the defendant: “You have a long-standing interest in computers. Unfortunately, you used your skills to commit a sophisticated fraud.”

Later, she said: “If he was an adult he would be going inside.”

In August, Crypto News Australia reported on how fake crypto trading websites were proliferating in Australia.

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Crypto News Google Hackers Scams

Warning: Hackers Are Hijacking YouTube Channels to Run Crypto Scams

Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has been fending off hackers attacking the accounts of YouTubers to hijack and repurpose them to run ads for cryptocurrency scams.

According to an update from TAG, the team has been disrupting phishing campaigns targeting YouTubers with Cookie Theft malware since 2019. The team has recently shared details about these “financially motivated phishing campaigns” that are used to trick YouTubers in various ways to hijack their accounts and then “either sell [them] to the highest bidder or use [them] to broadcast cryptocurrency scams”.

A large number of hijacked channels were rebranded for cryptocurrency scam live-streaming. On account-trading markets, hijacked channels ranged from US$3 to US$4,000 depending on the number of subscribers.

Ashley Shen, Threat Analysis Group (TAG)

The channels would be customised to look like those of large crypto firms or crypto exchanges where the attacker live-streamed videos promising cryptocurrency giveaways in exchange for an initial contribution.

Google’s Steps to Protect Users

In collaboration with YouTube, Gmail, Trust & Safety, CyberCrime Investigation Group and Safe Browsing teams, TAG’s protective measures have “decreased the volume of related phishing emails on Gmail by 99.6% since May 2021. We blocked 1.6M messages to targets, displayed ~62K Safe Browsing phishing page warnings, blocked 2.4K files, and successfully restored ~4K accounts”.

As a result, attackers are starting to move to non-Gmail providers, “mostly email.cz, seznam.cz, post.cz and aol.com”. Phishing emails can be remarkably deceptive, and once the wheels start turning on the process it can be very difficult to stop and recover an account. 

How Accounts Can Be Hacked

TAG had found that the perpetrators of the campaign were recruiting hackers from a “Russian-speaking forum”. The hackers would “lure their target(s) with fake collaboration opportunities”, usually in the form of a demo for anti-virus software, VPN, music players, photo editing or online games, and then gain access to their accounts through Cookie Theft, also known as “pass-the-cookie attack”.

Once the target agreed to the deal, a malware landing page disguised as a software download URL [would be] sent via email or a PDF on Google Drive, and in a few cases, Google documents containing the phishing links. Around 15,000 actor accounts were identified, most of which were created for this campaign specifically.

Ashley Shen, Threat Analysis Group (TAG)

There have also been cases of malware that can copy information on your clipboard to get your crypto information.

Some of the other tactics and known procedures to hack accounts are:

  • social engineering YouTubers with advertisement offers;
  • planting fake software landing pages and social media accounts;
  • delivering cookie theft malware;
  • cryptocurrency scams and selling; and
  • hack-for-hire attackers.
Categories
Australia Investing Scams Social media

ASIC Joins Telegram Groups to Warn Investors Against Pump-and-Dump Schemes

Due to the increasing activity of pump-and-dump campaigns coordinated over social media and instant messaging platforms, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has started monitoring platforms to step in as an early warning system to respond to these schemes.

Last week, a 288-member group of Australian “small investors” got the shock of a lifetime when they received a message from ASIC on a private Telegram group.

The independent government regulator somehow infiltrated the aptly titled “ASX Pump Organization” group’s private messages, involving potentially illegal market tip-offs.

Pumping and dumping refers to an individual or group that buys shares and then hypes the transaction to other prospective buyers, causing the stock’s price to skyrocket. This is done so they can sell their original shares for a profit.

Members of “ASX Pump Organization” tried to persuade others in the group to buy stocks in YPB Group, a NSW-based technology company.

ASIC Warns of Illegal Financial Activity

According to ASIC, there has been an increase in the number of Australians using social media forums, including Telegram, to coordinate pump-and-dump activities in the sharemarket. On September 23, ASIC published a warning about a “concerning trend” of social media groups engaging in “blatant” pump-and-dump campaigns.

ASIC has been working closely with market operators to identify and disrupt pump-and-dump campaigns, and we will continue to target actions that threaten the integrity of markets and to take enforcement action where appropriate.

Cathie Armour, ASIC commissioner

ASIC has previously warned that pumping and dumping can “amount to market manipulation”, which carries hefty penalties since it breaches the Corporations Act. The penalties for breaking this law can be a fine of more than A$1 million and up to 15 years in prison. Crypto trading is also still on the radar, with ASIC chairman Joe Longo stating that crypto trading is still a “significant area of concern”, especially for those using unlicensed crypto companies.

The campaign is not solely focused on crypto, according to an ASIC spokesperson, but instead “the campaign is targeting listed stocks, but the messaging is relevant for all financial products, including any crypto assets that may be, or involve, financial products”.

ASIC also knows who is behind every share bought and sold on the stock market and they have recently made it very clear that they are targeting these chat forums, as well social media finfluencers who talk about financial products including stocks.

Dale Gillham, chief analyst, Wealth Within

Pump and Dump Group’s Disbelief

Many of the group’s members assumed the account to be fake; however, ASIC confirmed the validity of the now-deleted message to The Australian newspaper.

Some members even stated that:

What ASIC needs to do is go after the corporates who inside-trade and short companies all the time, and not spend valuable time here hassling 300 small investors who are doing nothing wrong by sharing stock recommendations. This has to be the biggest joke in history,

ASX Pump Organisation group member

The increase in popularity and frequency of pump-and-dump schemes comes after the r/wallstreetbets and Robinhood saga in January, which saw a major pump and dump of GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment (AMC) shares.

Categories
Australia Bitcoin Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Ethereum Scams

Alex Saunders Ordered to Pay $500,000 by Default for Unpaid Crypto Loans

Former influential cryptocurrency influencer Alex Saunders has been ordered by the Supreme Court of Victoria to pay upwards of A$500,000 to one of his followers after he failed to respond to a lawsuit as reported by Crypto News on August 11.

This is the first time in Australia that a follower has successfully sued a cryptocurrency influencer for losses incurred on an investment.

Alex Saunders. Source: twitter.com/NuggetsNewsAU

The Supreme Court of Victoria ruled on October 14 that Saunders has to pay back the funds, plus interest and legal fees, as a default ruling because the defence did not file a response within the 42-day deadline.

The default settlements of A$487,805 (including A$8,534 for interest) and A$4,156 for legal fees are to be paid to New Zealand investor Ziv Himmelfarb for the “crypto loans” he made to Saunders earlier this year.

The court statement of claim included a “long/short crypto fund” sent by Saunders via Facebook on February 17, 2021, leading to Himmelfarb sending over A$250,000 worth of bitcoin to subscribe for an interest in the crypto fund.

The court order also includes a section where Himmelfarb also sent Saunders around A$65,000 worth of USDC for a “DCB project”, for which Saunders was allegedly raising capital from his community.

Along with the crypto fund investment and the DCB project, Himmelfarb sent Saunders A$144,305 worth of ETH (Ethereum) coins in an “ETH coins loan”.

Unregistered Crypto Funds

The crypto fund and DCB projects in question were pursued in the lawsuit as being unregistered under section 601EB of the Act. As mentioned, this allows the investor to lay claim to a contract breach whereas the investment scheme has not been registered in Australia as required under the Corporations Act.

Bankruptcy Notice Issued

Following the application, the Australian Financial Security Authority has issued a bankruptcy notice, giving Saunders 21 days to pay, failing which Himmelfarb can file a creditor’s bankruptcy petition. Crypto News asked Himmelfarb if he had any comments and he said:

My only comment is that I hope I don’t have to go all the way through to bankruptcy, but I won’t hesitate to do that if Alex doesn’t pay.

Ziv Himmelfarb

Related News

Controversy on Twitter followed a story published and since removed by news.com.au regarding a former colleague of Saunders, Ben Simpson, who has been contacted by Crypto News with a list of questions regarding his business relationship with Saunders and involvement with any other projects.

Crypto News has also contacted Saunders to add comments for this story, but he has maintained his silence through all channels.

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Crypto News Crypto Wallets Cryptocurrencies Scams

Tinder, Bumble and Grindr iOS Users Targeted by Latest Crypto Scam, Called ‘CryptoRom’

A relatively new cryptocurrency trading scam is preying on iPhone users via popular hook-up platforms such as Tinder, Bumble and Grindr.

Dubbed CryptoRom by researchers at cybersecurity firm Sophos, the scam initially targeted victims in Asia and is now attacking users in the US and Europe as well.

A Bitcoin wallet belonging to the attackers, as detected by Sophos with the aid of one victim, revealed that nearly US$1.4 million in cryptos had been harvested by the scam.

“The CryptoRom scam relies heavily on social engineering at almost every stage,” according to Jagadeesh Chandraiah, senior threat researcher at Sophos, who adds that the novel scam has the potential to do a lot more damage than just stealing cryptos.

“They could also, for instance, collect personal data, add and remove accounts, and install and manage apps for other malicious purposes,” the Sophos researchers said. 

Beware Fake Crypto Trading Apps

Initially, fake profiles are posted on legitimate dating sites to lure in victims. Once baited, the victims are persuaded to install and invest in a fake cryptocurrency trading app. 

“At first, the returns look very good but if the victim asks for their money back or tries to access the funds, they are refused and the money is lost,” the Sophos researchers warn.

The threats don’t end with lost cryptos. Sophos researchers say the scammers use Apple’s enterprise signature mechanism to install apps directly on iOS devices, circumventing the App Store.

Enterprise signature is designed for use by iOS developers to enable app developers to test iOS apps before submitting them to the official Apple App Store for review and approval.

Until recently, the criminal operators mainly distributed the fake crypto apps through fake websites that resemble a trusted bank or the Apple App Store. The addition of the iOS enterprise developer system introduces further risk for victims because they could be handing the attackers the rights to their device and the ability to steal their personal data.

Jagadeesh Chandraiah, senior threat researcher, Sophos

Next Step Is Remote Management Control

Sophos warns the scammers use the fake crypto trading app to gain remote management control over the devices of their victims, which exposes them to all kinds of malicious campaigns.

iPhone users should only install apps from Apple’s App Store. The golden rule is that if something seems risky or too good to be true – such as someone you barely know telling you about some ‘great’ online investment scheme that will deliver a big profit – sadly, it probably is.

Jagadeesh Chandraiah, senior threat researcher, Sophos

From January 1 to July 31 in the US, the FBI logged more than 1800 complaints related to romantic deceptions, resulting in personal losses of approximately US$133,400,000, much of it in cryptocurrency.

In July, Crypto News Australia also reported on the case of an American man who was drugged by a woman he met on Tinder who then attempted to steal his crypto.

Crypto News Australia has also put together an excellent guide on how to avoid Bitcoin scams, including a section on romance scams, which we strongly recommend you check out.

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ChainLink Crypto Art Crypto News NFTs Scams

Banned Convicted Art Forger Launches NFT Collection; Will It Succeed?

Convicted German art forger Wolfgang Beltracchi has entered the NFT world, launching his very own digital NFT museum. Beltracchi is recreating the world’s most expensive painting, da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, in the form of 4,606 NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.

Recreating “The Greats”

In a new project, aptly named “The Greats”, Beltracchi will be recreating – not forging – one of the most controversial paintings in art history.

Painted in whole or in part by Leonardo da Vinci between 1499-1510, Salvator Mundi was in 2017 sold at a Christie’s auction to a proxy for Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. It had been mistaken for a copy for the previous 500 years until the truth was finally revealed in 2011.

Salvator Mundi, believed to have been painted by da Vinci between 1499-1510.

According to The Greats’ website, the project will feature seven different takes on Salvator Mundi, based on the seven different eras of art history. Beltracchi is said to have redesigned the famous painting in 4,608 copies in his style.

The infamous forger conned the art world out of approximately 35 million euros between 1980 and 2011 before he was finally arrested by German authorities and sentenced to six years in prison, of which he served only three.

Since his incarceration, Beltracchi has been barred from exhibiting and selling his art by art museums, auction houses and galleries, hence his entry into the NFT market:

The NFT market offers artists a platform to market themselves independently and makes them independent from traditional art market mechanisms.

Wolfgang Beltracchi

Not all of the NFTs are currently exhibited on the website, with a spokesperson indicating they would only be revealed when the sale starts later this month.

In order to ensure the NFTs are not exploited, The Greats will be making a “hidden sale”. Chainlink’s Verifiable Random Function (VRF) will prevent buyers knowing which NFT they are minting.

Will Beltracchi Be Able to Pull It Off?

Confidence in NFT artists is not all that high of late, and many collectors are no doubt wondering if investing in the work of a convicted criminal is their best bet. Just last week, Crypto News Australia reported on the ‘Evolved Apes’ rug-pull in which investors lost a cool US$2.7 million.

Investors in Iconic Sol, an NFT project on the Solana blockchain, were also left in the lurch after the company failed to deliver several pieces of art and made off with US$500,000.

Categories
Crypto News NFTs Scams

Developer Behind ‘Evolved Apes’ NFT Project Makes Off With $2.7 Million

A non-fungible token (NFT) project on the OpenSea marketplace has been hit by a rug-pull of note, with the developer running away with US$2.7 million and leaving the community to rebuild from the ruins.

Found on the OpenSea NFT marketplace, the project is described as “a collection of 10,000 unique NFTs trapped inside a lawless land […] fighting for survival, only the strongest ape will prevail”, referring to the project’s hyped fighting game, which never materialised.

A week after the launch of the Evolved Apes NFT project, the developer, aptly named Evil Ape, vanished along with the project’s funds, which were siphoned in multiple transactions.

The Great NFT Rug Pull

The funds, attained from the initial public sale of NFTs and commissions on the secondary market, which were meant for project-related expenses, were stolen by the developer. Along with the disappearance of 798 ETH (US$2.7 million), the project’s official Twitter page and website have also been taken down.

An investor in the project who chose to remain anonymous stated that there were several red flags after the public sale that took place on September 24. Some of the main leaders vanished and communication with the community became conspicuous and unprofessional.

Investors active on the project’s Discord server contacted Mike_Cryptobull, who spent 3 ETH (around US$10,200) on 20 Evolved Apes, and was appointed as their existing investigator for the situation. According to Mike_Cryptobull, winners of the social media competition never received their prizes and the artists went unpaid.

What has happened is that Evil Ape has washed his hands of the project, taking away the wallet with all the ETH from minting that was to be used for everything from paying the artist, paying out cash giveaways, paying for marketing, paying for rarity tools, developing the game and everything else in between.

Mike_Cryptobull

Community Fights Back 

Even though the money is gone, the Evolved Apes community plans to carry on. Unlike with cryptocurrencies, NFT rug pulls leave behind JPEGs and a narrative surrounding them. Mike_Cryptobull explained in the report that he and others would build a new project called Fight Back Apes out of the ashes of Evolved Apes.

The new community notified Evolved Apes holders that they would be automatically approved for a Fight Back Apes token linked with the art from the old project:

We will become the Fight Back Apes, fighting as a community against our nemesis, Evil Ape.

Mike_Cryptobull

New Community to Use Multisig Wallet

Evolved Apes used a single signature wallet, allowing Evil Ape to manage the wallet as he saw fit without consensus from the community or other leaders. In opposition to that, Fight Back Apes stated they will be using a multi-signature wallet to ensure something similar doesn’t happen.

However, that doesn’t stop leaders from colluding and pulling a fast one again. Investors in new projects should keep in mind the golden rule of doing your own research (DYOR).

Categories
Blockchain Crypto Art NFTs Scams Solana

Alleged 17-Year-Old Artist Sells Fake NFTs in $500,000 RugPull

Iconic Sol, an NFT project on the Solana blockchain, has apparently rugged its investors after failing to deliver several artwork pieces and disappearing with US$500,000.

A 17-year-old 3D artist is presumed to be behind the project. The teenager promised to deliver 8,000 NFT artworks on the project’s Discord channel and some of the tokens were supposed to be available in an October 1 presale. A total of 2,000 NFTs were up for grabs at a price of 0.5 SOL, many of them selling out quickly. 

The presale generated the anonymous artist 1,000 SOL, or US$138,000, but the estimated amount of stolen funds is over half a million dollars. The event was reported by SOL Big Brain, a popular member of the Solana NFT community:

Data from Solana Explorer shows the person(s) behind the project has already sent the money to different addresses. And just as concerning for investors, instead of receiving the NFTs the artist sent them a bunch of random emojis.

Beware of Fake and Non-Existent NFTs

This is probably the first rugpull on the Solana network. But it’s hard to say as controversy still surrounds a previous Solana project backed by American rapper Lil Uzi called Eternal Beings, whose floor price plunged after the rapper deleted his Twitter posts regarding the project.

Fake and non-existing NFTs are becoming an increasing concern in the DeFi space. As Crypto News Australia reported, last month an NFT collector paid almost US$500,000 worth of ETH for an NFT that never existed.