Spam and phishing emails are a constant plague in our inboxes, but more recently, sextortion campaigns have also appeared on the radar.

This particular brand of fraud attempts to capitalize on how some of us view adult content -- a personal and private matter, and one of which we would not necessarily want contacts such as friends or family to know about, or to become acquainted with our viewing preferences.

Often, these emails will claim that someone has been watching you through your webcam at the same time you are watching pornography or live cams and they not only know what you have been watching and when, but have also obtained the contact information of friends, family, and co-workers.

Emails may also include a password from an online account, stolen through a data breach and published online in data dumps, to appear more authentic.

See also:France asks Apple to relax iPhone security for coronavirus tracking app development

Cybercriminals will then demand a payment from victims in cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) to stop footage of the victim apparently watching pornography from being leaked.

Given the adult nature of these threats, some recipients of sextortion emails do fall for this tactic and pay up. But where does the cryptocurrency go?

Researchers from SophosLabs, together with analysts from CipherTrace, decided to find out.

On Wednesday, the companies published an investigative report on a large sextortion campaign that was active from September 2019 to February 2020.

Millions of sextortion spam emails were sent during this timeframe. Victims were asked to pay up to $800 in BTC into wallet addresses owned by the fraudsters, amassing the cybercriminals roughly $500,000 -- 50.98 BTC -- during the scam's lifetime.

The scheme employed botnets made up of compromised PCs worldwide to send out spam. The majority of the emails were sent in English, but some were also sent in Italian, German, French, and Chinese.

The sextortion campaign appears to be a cut above most as the fraudsters used obfuscation techniques to bypass spam filters, including white garbage text blocks, random strings, and adding words in Cyrillic script to confuse scanners.

An example of the sextortion message is below:

The research teams analyzed the wallet addresses associated with the campaign which pulled in an estimated $3,1000 a day in proceeds. Wallets that received deposits were cycled every 15 days or so.

In total, 328 addresses were tracked, 12 of which were connected to online cryptocurrency exchanges and online wallet services -- many of which already considered "high-risk" as they do not impose Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, making them useful in money laundering.

Cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance, LocalBitcoins, and Coinpayments were also "unknowing participants" in cryptocurrency washes, in which funds are moved around to clean up dirty trails, according to the researchers.

Other transactions were connected to private, non-hosted wallets. In total, 316 transactions made up to three 'hops' from one original transaction address, ending up in places including the Dark Web Hydra Market and credit card dump marketplace FeShop. Funds were also sent to other corners of the underground criminal economy including mixers for conversion to other cryptocurrencies, cash, and services.

One wallet used in the sextortion scheme was also connected to a BTC transaction linked to the 2019 Binance hack.

"There were 13 addresses among the 328 passed to CipherTrace that did not have traceable outbound transactions," the report says. "But for the remainder, whoever was behind the wallets did not let their cryptocurrency spoils sit for long. Based on the date of the first input (when the first extortion payment transaction occurred) and of the last output (when the last of the value of the wallet's Bitcoin was drained), [there is] an average "lifespan" of approximately 32.28 days."

Tracking the funds from the sextortion campaign in the real world is a difficult prospect, not only due to the anonymization factors of wallets but also due to the use of IP masking and VPNs.

CNET:Senator asks Google and Apple CEOs to be personally liable for COVID-19 tracking project privacy

Out of all 328 addresses, CipherTrace was able to track the IP data of 20 addresses, but each of these was either connected to VPNs or Tor exit nodes. The majority of the deposits ended up in global cryptocurrency exchanges and the use of these solutions can bypass geographical restrictions, giving the teams little to work with when it comes to honing in on the true locations of threat actors.

"Given that some of the transfers were used to obtain stolen credit card data or other criminal services -- probably including more botnet services for sending spam -- the payouts from the sextortion campaigns are funding yet another round of scams and fraud," the researchers said.

TechRepublic:Security teams want new tools but lack the budget to experiment

Earlier this month, cybercriminals stole over $25 million in cryptocurrency belonging to Lendf.me. It is believed that a combination of security flaws and blockchain features were strung together in an attack that allowed the threat actors to repeatedly make withdrawals.

Three days after the assault, the cyberattackers returned all of the funds following the leak of an IP address during the attack and direct negotiation with the cryptocurrency exchange.

Have a tip? Get in touch securely via WhatsApp | Signal at +447713 025 499, or over at Keybase: charlie0

Read the original here:
This is what happens to cryptocurrency paid out in sextortion campaigns - ZDNet

There was a biggie last week with the leaking of Chinas much anticipated Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The leak revealed extensive details of how the accompanying app works, a look at the visuals of the wallet, and a preview of what the currency would look like for the general public.

A digital coin from China has been much talked about, so this tease is exciting news as central banks launching digital currencies would help increase the widespread adoption of crypto assets, which in turn would show people the benefits that crypto assets can bring to the real world.

Clearly China is on the hunt for supremacy in crypto assets, as well as looking to usurp the US dollar as the worlds dominant currency. Tie Chinas digital currency with its intention to launch the Blockchain-based Service Network, which will help companies deploy blockchain technology in a smarter and more efficient manner, and there is no doubt the country with the worlds second-biggest economy is looking to take the blockchain bull by the horns.

However, for those of us who appreciate the decentralised nature of crypto assets, there is a fear that having the worlds most authoritarian superpower launching its own highly centralised digital currency could actually lead to more surveillance of its population. Blockchain technology enables you to track transactions and for this reason, it will be harder for people to maintain privacy. Some people are unbanked for exactly this reason.

Facebooks new approach could go well with the regulator but not with the community

Mark Zuckerbergs social media mastodon outlined the new direction of its heavily debated Libra project. The paper published by the Libra Association makes three key changes: Libra will be permissioned at first, it will only be stablecoins, and it will use regulated nodes (VASPS). The crypto community could in fact fully disregard the Libra project, highlighting these three changes as the foundation ditching its decentralised ethos.

I think these are positive changes though, as it is important for projects from companies as large as Facebook to take a regulated approach, a view eToro CEO Yoni Assia discussed in eToros position paper on the matter, published last November. Overall, it is important that firms looking to launch these sorts of cryptoasset ecosystems take their first step by supporting multiple currencies on-chain. Only then, once they have the trust of both the regulator and of the consumer, should they look to launch novel crypto tokens.

Bitcoin halving sparks search interest and winners could span the whole sector

Ahead of the bitcoin halving we have seen a massive increase in interest in the event. Google Trends, which tracks increases in the frequency and popularity of specific search phrases, shows that bitcoin halving is currently at 100% interest, which means it is at the peak of its popularity, garnering 28% more interest for the search term compared to the 2016 halving.

Ive already talked about where I think the price of bitcoin is heading following Mays halving, and it is well-documented that other crypto assets follow the performance of bitcoin, to a greater or lesser degree. However, there are some crypto assets that could even outperform the original crypto. One of these is Ethereum. Given that there are various DeFi applications being built on Ethereum that use bitcoin as collateral or as a means of bringing liquidity to decentralised exchanges, the overall Ethereum network would grow and develop, if bitcoin prices increase following the halving and we see greater bitcoin inflows into these applications.

Other winners from the halving could be application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) manufacturers, such as NYSE-listed Canaan. With the mining reward being cut in half, miners will have to operate more efficiently, placing an emphasis on having the most up to date ASICs.

UBI-based cryptos could be the vaccine for wealth inequality

Many countries are beginning to release data showing some positive signs with regards to controlling the coronavirus impact., Some of the world is also beginning to discuss how we solve some of the ills that the coronavirus has laid bare when it comes to wealth inequality.

With central banks now adopting helicopter money policies to directly put wealth into citizens pockets, the use of blockchain technology could help solve some of the logistical issues that come with such a grand scheme. This becomes increasingly important when we think about the vast number of people across the globe that do not have a bank account to receive such capital. By giving everyone a crypto wallet central banks could directly deposit this money into them. It also removes the need for people to jump through the regular bureaucratic hoops of opening a bank account.

GoodDollar itself is a research hub, funded by eToro, exploring how UBI principles could be deployed through crypto assets to address global wealth inequality. Theoretically, everyone can receive a GoodDollar token into a crypto wallet.

This is just one of the ways that blockchain and cryptocurrencies can help to build a better future if we choose to use them. And we should.

Top crypto assets traded on eToro last week (UK clients only)

Top crypto assets traded on eToro last week (all clients global)

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly-available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading crypto assets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

Photo byNick FewingsonUnsplash

Read this article:
Chinas Cryptocurrency Currently the First, but Fears Remain - newsBTC

The cryptocurrency market is in a lull situation following a retreat from the highs achieved last week. The majority of cryptoassets are barely sustaining in the green especially the top three; Bitcoin Ethereum and Ripple. The most battered coin is Bitcoin Gold (BTG) after losing 1.36% of its market value on the day.

Data by CoinMarketCap shows a fall in the total market capitalization from the recent high at $204 billion to the current $198 billion. The drop clearly shows that the selling pressure in the past 48 hours has been significant especially for Bitcoin after falling from high above $7,300 to lower levels at $6,748. The total trading volume has also tumbled from $186 billion to $114 billion (reported in the last 24 hours).

BTC/USD has a market value of $6,864 at the time of writing. The cryptoasset features a 0.30% gain on the day from an opening value of $6,854. Its trend is bullish amid shrinking volatility; an indication that upward movements will not be forthcoming in the current and next sessions of the day unless a catalyst comes into play.

Looking at the four-hour chart, Bitcoin is still holding above the 50-day SMA; a very key indicator that buyers have enough power to avert further losses. The only thing that is holding them back is the low trading volume which can also be resolved by a catalyst. Signals from the MACD suggests that Bitcoin is in the hands of the bulls and that the path of least resistance is to the north. It is also vital that support at $6,800 is defended while the focus remains on rising above $7,000 in the near term.

ETH/USD is slightly in the green having accrued 0.76% of gains from the opening value of $170.34. Ether tested highs at $190 over the weekend but has lost a significant chunk of its value in the last 48 hours. In spite of a bullish trend, the low volatility means that low volume is recorded across the exchange platforms and that traders are choosing to stay away from the current choppy markets. At the time of writing, Ethereum is teetering at $172 after defending support at $170.

XRP/USD, the third-largest cryptocurrency in the industry is trading 0.43% higher on the day. Over the last 48 hours, Ripple has contained its movements in a narrow range between $0.18 and $0.19. Trading remains limited just like the other top cryptocurrencies as movement stays drab. Minor price actions are expect throughout the trading sessions on Wednesday unless something extraordinary happens.

Here is the original post:
Cryptocurrency Market Update: Bitcoin. Ethereum and Ripple in total lockdown as consolidation takes over - FXStreet

BTC/USD Daily CHART SHORT TERM

Bitcoin has seen an interesting week of trading as it rebounded from the support at $6,600 last week. The support here was provided by a rising trend line and was bolstered by a .236 Fib Retracement level. After rebounding, it went on to break above $7,000 but fell short at $7,200 this weekend which caused the coin to roll over again.

The cryptocurrency has since dropped beneath $7,000 and is now trading back at the support provided by the rising trend line.

Bitcoin is considered neutral at the moment, however, if it drops beneath the support line and falls below $6,600, the market would be considered as bearish in the short term.

Looking ahead, if the sellers push beneath $6,650, the first level of support lies at $6,612 (.236 Fib Retracement). Beneath this, support lies at $6,400, $6,200, and $6,085 (.382 Fib Retracement).

On the other side, if the buyers step in and push higher, the first level of resistance lies at $7,000. Above this, resistance lies at $7,174 (bearish .618 Fib Retracement), $7,200, and $7,400. If the bulls can break $7,400, higher resistance lies at $7,676 (1.618 Fib Extension), and $8,000 (bearish .786 Fib Retracement).

The RSI is trading beneath the 50 line which indicates weak bearish momentum. If it continues to drop further beneath 50, we can expect Bitcoin to drop beneath $6,600.

ETH/USD Daily CHART SHORT TERM

Ethereum managed to increase as high as $191 this week where it met resistance at a bearish .618 Fibonacci Retracement level. More specifically, it was unable to break above resistance at $187 (1.618 Fibonacci Extension level). It rolled over from here to drop into support at $170.

Etheruem is bullish right now after creating a fresh high for April. However, if it continues to fall and drops beneath $160 it would be considered neutral with a further drop beneath $150 turning the market bearish.

The first level of support lies at $167 (.236 Fib Retracement). Beneath this, support lies at $160, $152 (.382 Fib Retracement), and $140 (.5 Fib Retracement).

On the other side, if the bulls push higher, the first level of resistance lies at $176 (1.414 Fib Extension). Above this, resistance lies at $187 (1.618 Fib Extension), $191 (bearish .618 Fib Retracement), and $200.

The RSI is above 50 to show that the bulls are not willing to give up control of the market momentum which is a good sign for ETH.

XRP/USD Daily CHART SHORT TERM

XRP rebounded from support at the rising trend line last week which allowed it to climb as high as $0.196 this weekend. However, we can see that it rolled over from here as it drops back into the support at $0.18 which is further bolstered by the rising support trend line.

XRP remains neutral at this moment in time, however, if it was to break beneath $0.18 we could consider the market as bearish.

Beneath $0.18, the first level of support lies at $0.17 (.382 Fib Retracement). Beneath this, support lies at $0.159 (.5 Fib Retracement), $0.147 (.618 Fib Retracement), and $0.14.

On the other side, resistance is located at $0.19, $0.196, and $0.20. Above $0.20, higher resistance is found at $0.211, $0.22, and $0.229 (bearish .5 Fib Retracement).

LINK/USD Daily CHART SHORT TERM

ChainLink has been on an absolute surge during April as it manages to rise toward the $3.70 level. It has since dropped lower but has managed to find support at $3.40, where lies the .236 Fibonacci Retracement level.

ChainLink remains bullish right now but must break $3.70 to continue this bull run. A break beneath $3.40 would turn it neutral with a further drop beneath $3.00 turning it bearish.

If the sellers break $3.40, support can be found at $3.20 and $3.13 (.382 Fib Retracement). Beneath this, support lies at $3.00, $2.91 (.5 Fib Retracement), and $2.69 (.618 Fib Retracement).

On the other hand, the first level of resistance lies at $3.66 and $3.70. Above this, resistance lies at $3.80, $4.00, and $4.13 (1.272 Fib Extension level). Additional resistance lies at $4.38 (1.414 Fib Extension) and $4.50.

The RSI is well above 50 to indicate the bulls dominate the market momentum.

Summary

Article Name

Market Update: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and ChainLink - Where Are They Heading?

Description

Bitcoin saw a 2.44% price fall today as it straddles the $6,850 support.Ethereum dropped by a total of 4% as it drops into $170.Ripple fell by a total of 2.5% as it drops into $0.18.ChainLink dropped by 4.2% as it reaches support at $3.40.

Author

Yaz Sheikh

Publisher Name

Coin Gape

Publisher Logo

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on Linkedin

Share on Telegram

View original post here:
Cryptocurrency Price Analysis: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and ChainLink Where Are They Heading? - Coingape

Chainlinks native cryptocurrency LINK has rebounded by more than 180 percent from its mid-March lows, beating top assets including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The LINK-to-dollar exchange rate topped at $3.84 on Saturday as ParaFi Capital, one of the venture firms backingpopular DeFi platform MakerDAO, proposed to collateralize its stablecoin DAI using the LINK cryptocurrency.

The firm noted that LINK brings an attractive market cap, liquidity profile, and appetite for speculation, which could assist DAI in maintaining its US dollar-peg.

For context, lending protocol Aave has seen close to $20MM in LINK 2 supplied as collateral since launching in mid-January, wrote ParaFi. LINK is valued at over $1 billion and is also one of the most liquid ERC-20 tokens available. The token is relatively decentralized with no known kill-switch or blacklisting capabilities.

The speculation helped to bring more users to the Chainlink network. The number of LINK wallets last week surged at an average of 1,400 per day, leading analysts to predict an uptrend in the LINK prices.

The Chainlink predictions are coming to be accurate, at least in the near-term. The LINK-to-dollar exchange rate on Monday jumped 6.26 percent to $3.79, signaling traders willingness to keep the prices afloat above crucial support levels. The move uphill brought the pair up by more than 100 percent on a year-to-date timeframe.

In comparison, bitcoin was down 0.21 percent within the same period.

LINK/USD breaks above October 2019 Resistance | Source: TradingView.com, Binance

Chainlinks gains also led the prices above its long-term moving average, the 200-daily MA. The blue wave in the chart above is now likely to behave like psychological support a place of LINK token accumulation. That increases the possibility of the cryptocurrency to retest $4.10. An extended move above the said level could push LINKs upside target towards $4.81.

Notably, the Chainlink price is rising but remains at the risk of profit-taking. Once the MakerDAO hype fades, traders could start offloading their LINK positions to move into either Bitcoin or fiat. Part of the reason is the fast-spreading Coronavirus pandemic that has raised the demand for the US dollar among institutional and retail investors.

Another reason for a medium-term downside move could be low volume. The price of the cryptocurrency is rising but on meager trade volumes, which shows that a lesser number of traders are participating in the ongoing bull run.

That said, maintaining stop-loss orders on bullish positions is necessary to minimize risks should there by any surprising trend reversal.

Cover Image via Unsplash

See the original post here:
Chainlink Cryptocurrency is Up 100 Percent YTD; What's Behind the Intense Rally? - Bitcoinist

Institutional traders are bringing greater liquidity to Ripples XRP-powered cross-border payment product, On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), according to the companys vice president of global institutional markets.

Ripple VP Breanne Madigan says that XRP liquidity is the lifeblood of ODL, lowering the risk and cost of each cross-border transaction.

The continued growth of ODL has led to an expanding number of financial institutions, payment providers and market-makers to trade in XRP. The resulting increase in institutional trading volume has helped to bring further liquidity to XRP, specifically in ODL corridors in spite of the recent market turbulence surrounding the COVID pandemic.

Bitso, the largest crypto exchange in Mexico, has expanded its reach by utilizing ODL, dramatically increasing its XRP/peso volume.

It now also processes 2.5% of remittance transactions from the United States to Mexico, the third-largest remittance market in the world an achievement that the companys leadership chalks up to their partnership with Ripple.

According to Bitso head of finance Barbara Gonzalez Briseno, Ripples technology has enabled them to charge only a fraction of (traditional) wire transfer fees.

Madigan says that exchanges that arent ODL partners can also help increase XRP liquidity going forward.

But even non-ODL partner exchanges like Kraken or Coinbase will contribute to increased liquidity. As non-ODL partner exchanges continue to grow more mainstream, larger institutional traders will begin transacting in XRP, making order books including ODL order booksmore liquid.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Irving Sandoval

Read more here:
Ripple Executive Says Institutional Trading Boosting XRP Behind the Scenes, With Cryptocurrency Exchange Bitso Taking the Lead - The Daily Hodl

When the governing body of Libra, the Facebook-developed cryptocurrency, released a new white paper on April 16, the reaction was sort of a yawn. Press accounts referred to the significant changes announced by the Libra association as that of watering down or scaling back plans for the cryptocurrency.

I dont quite read it the white paper that way. Although Libra is adding some new features, and some of these are more pleasing to regulators, it still has the potential to be an amazing technology and change finance and payments as we know it. As I said in my initial statement, Changes to the Libras initial design, such as the new option of single-currency stablecoins that can be denominated in the currency of ones country, could result in faster payments and lower fees to transfer at a time when it is desperately needed.

I added, however, that Libra and other cryptocurrencies could serve functions other than initially imagined when cryptocurrencies were created a decade ago. Back then, it looked like serving as an alternative to central bank currency would be the most valued feature, as folks were worried about inflation in the wake of massive quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve. Today, given the Feds actions that dwarf those of the 2008 crisis (but more justifiable to many due to businesses and individuals being hit by something that was clearly not their fault), there still is some desire to hedge potentially debased national currencies.

But the potential for faster payments from Libra and other cryptocurrencies, at a time when the public and policy makers are looking to move money faster, may be the biggest draw. My friend Diego Zuluaga, policy analyst at the Cato Institute, writes that Libras changes make it more like PayPal and other electronic payment networks.

That may be so, and thats okay, as long as lawmakers and regulators dont manufacture more red tape to burden upstarts in financial technology. The history of capitalism is filled with consumers and producers changing their products purposes and what businesses were set up to do. Who would have thought even 10 years ago that a phone would be the prime place for listening to recorded music? And who before last month thought that distilleries could repurpose themselves so quickly to become makers of hand sanitizers with alcohol?

Even before the COVID-19 crisis, blockchain technology associated with cryptocurrency was already being utilized in countless new ways, from medical recordkeeping to land titling, as I noted in a CEI study last year. Now people are finding many ways that blockchain can be part of the solution in defeating COVID-19. For instance, scholars at Aston University in Birmingham, U.K., are researching a blockchain application to verify that medical equipment came from legitimate factories and is not defective.

Governments of the world have a duty to ensure that #NeverNeeded red tape doesnt keep cryptocurrency and blockchain creators from making these valuable contributions to our public health and prosperity.

CEI Research Associate Gibson Kirsch contributed to this post.

View post:
Modified Libra Cryptocurrency Still an Innovation, but Clear away Regulatory Barriers for More - Competitive Enterprise Institute

ISKANDAR PUTERI: Police have arrested 14 men from China for involvement in cryptocurrency (bitcoin) scams in a house at Horizon Hills here.

Iskandar Puteri OCPD Asst Comm Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the arrests were made around 2.15pm on Saturday (April 18) following a two-month long surveillance.

"The suspects are aged from 20 to 30 with three of them having no valid travel documents," he said when met by reporters at Iskandar Puteri police headquarters here on Sunday (April 19).

He added that the suspects targeted victims from China by impersonating as a successful investor.

"One of them would pose as a successful investor or a mentor while the rest will pose as investors before creating a group chat through WeChat and QQ application for each of their victims.

"All of the suspects would then give a fake testimony to persuade the victim into investing," he said, adding that the group has been active for the past two months.

ACP Dzulkhairi added that police are still investigating the total number of victims and the value of money scammed by the group.

The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating which provides for a jail sentence of up to 10 years and caning, with the possibility of a fine, if convicted.

They are also being investigated under Section 6(1)(C) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, which provides for a fine of not more than RM10,000 or jail of up to five years, or both, and up to six strokes of whipping on conviction.

The rest is here:
Johor cops nab 14 Chinese nationals over cryptocurrency scams - The Star Online