Front Page
My Featured Posts
Our Interesting Chat With ChatGPT On The Gery Shalon Cybercrime Case!
We chatted with ChatGPT about Gery Shalon. The AI language model said that Shalon is a Georgian-born Israeli national who was the mastermind in a large-scale cybercrime case. He was arrested in 2015 and later extradited to the United States to face charges. His co-conspirators included Ziv Orenstein and Joshua Aaron. The three men were accused of working together to carry out several high-profile cyber crimes, including the 2014 data breach at JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest financial data breaches in U.S. history.
Latest Updates
I
Investor Warning Against Broker Scam Fuelta!
Today we received an email welcoming us as a new client of Fuelta broker. The trading account was already opened, we were told. Strange, because we have never registered with Fuelta. This is just one of the countless white-label scams that disappear after a few weeks and are replaced by a new scam brand. The customer data is used and abused again and again. Stay far away.
I
Interesting Interview: AI-Based Crypto Predictions For The Coming Years!
Over the past few weeks, the crypto segment has rebounded after a disastrous 2022, which saw the implosion of crypto prices due to the collapse of the large crypto schemes Luna/Terra, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), Celsius, Voyager, and FTX. The Bitcoin price has increased by about 50% from $15,800 to $23,800 since November 2022. Is this just a brief flare-up or the beginning of a new cycle? We asked ChatGPT about the prevailing analyst opinion and received the following response.
U
Urgent Warning (Again) Against Blockchain.com Fund Recovery Scam!
For more than a year now, we have observed various fund recovery scams that claim in emails to consumers that a Bitcoin (BTC) balance has been discovered in a Blockchain.com account that would be in their name. For the payout of the BTC balance, the consumers would only have to transfer a few hundred (sometimes a few thousand) euros or dollars to cover the recovery costs. Please do not fall for these scammers.
U
Urgent Warning Against Bet Swagger And Cyprus Payment Processor Pulsion Processing!
It is currently common for online casino, sports betting and gambling operators equipped with an e-gaming license in Curacao to have a payment subsidiary in Cyprus. This also has the advantage of having a location in the EU. The operator of Bet Swagger, Usoftgaming N.V., has also chosen this structure and processes the payments of its customers via the Cyprus-registered Pulsion Processing Ltd. We have heard massive complaints from several customers of this scheme. Therefore, we issue a warning.
Payment Processors
W
Whistleblower Request About SettlePay, CheckoutFX, And Their Shabby Binance Pay Services!
We have found the CheckoutFX payment platform dozens of times among the many broker scams we analyze. This is operated anonymously from Russia and/or Ukraine. Most recently, we found CheckoutFX in the PocketOption broker scheme PocketOption together with SettlePay, a supposedly exclusive Binance partner for the CIS countries, including Ukraine. Through CheckoutFX and SettlePay, deposits from PocketOption clients were misrepresented as food transactions. We would like to know more.
W
Whistleblower Request: SinaraCorp, BitnextLTD, And Their Cybercrime Scheme Facilitated By Luna!
In March and May 2022, FinTelegram warned against a cybercrime scheme around different companies in different jurisdictions and a multitude of domains and websites. Since our report, some websites have vanished, but the scheme is still chasing victims. The German BaFin warned against SinaraCorp, while the Austrian FMA warned against BitnexLTD. Other regulators have also issued warnings against the aggressive cybercrime scheme. Here is an update.
U
Urgent Warning Against Broker Scam Portrades!
Today we have discovered Scam Portrades, a broker that appears to be operated through Bulgarian and is supposedly operated through Signix Ltd, registered in the Marshall Islands. Bulgarian Tera Solutions is named as the payment agent on the website. As a payment facilitator, we have once again discovered ShinePays, which processes victims' credit/debit card deposits. Stay very far away and save yourself from losing your money and misusing your data.
A
Attention! Do Not Fall For The Russian MaxiMarkets And MaxiTrade Broker Scams!
MaxiMarkets is already an old scam and is still not gone. In April 2019, the Spanish regulator CNMV issued a warning, and in August 2020, the Italian regulator Consob had the offshore broker's website blocked for Italian consumers. The Financial Commission has also placed MaxiMarkets on its warning list. However, the scam is still active and targets mainly Russian-speaking victims. We have discovered Ramp and the Irish Apachewell as payment processors.
Cybercrime Court Cases
B
Bloomberg: Cybercrime Mastermind Gery Shalon Free And Back in Israel Since 2021!
Gery Shalon, the cybercrime mastermind behind the online casino schemes, pump-and-dump schemes, and one of the partners of Gal Barak, returned to Israel after being allowed to leave US custody two years ago, his father Shota Shalelashvili allegedly said in an interview broadcast in the Republic of Georgia. Shalon was extradited from Israel in 2015 and faced 23 counts and potentially decades in prison. He also was accused of running global money-laundering operations.
Regulatory Updates
I
Investor Warning Against Offshore Broker Capital Street FX!
Capital Street FX is an offshore broker allegedly operated by Capital Street Intermarkets Limited in Mauritius. The company is registered with the FSC Mauritius as an Investment Dealer. Technology and payment services are provided through UK-registered Minus Zero Technologies Limited. It is an Indian broker scheme also believed to have an office in Dubai. Capital Street FX does not have authorization for North America, Australia, or EEA. Here is our initial review.
I
Introducing Offshore CySEC-Regulated Errante And Its Offshore Activities!
Errante is the trading name of the investment company Notely Trading Ltd, which CySEC regulates with license number 383/20. Errante also operates two offshore mutations via Errante Trading LLC, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, and Errante Securities (Seychelles) Ltd, regulated by the FSA Seychelles. For unknown reasons, the Seychelles mutation switched the domain Errante.com to Errante-Global.com in December 2022. Here is our initial review.
I
Introducing CySEC Broker GO Markets And Its Offshore Mutation!
GO Markets is an Australian multi-asset broker regulated by CySEC in Cyprus. Besides, as is common with many CySEC-registered brokers, the broker scheme operates an offshore mutation regulated by the FSC Mauritius. This allows the strict ESMA and CySEC regulations to be bypassed, higher leverage can be offered, and pre-KYC deposits can be accepted. GO Markets offers a leverage of up to 1:500 and accepts clients from the EEA area without any problems. Here is our initial review.
Support Scam Victims
Join the fight against cybercrime!
European Funds Recovery Initiative (EFRI) is a non-government organization with the mission to support scam and cybercrime victims.
