Hong Kong police have issued a warning over the rise in counterfeit banknotes, with many cases linked to cryptocurrency scams. Between January and April, authorities seized 3,396 fake notes valued at HK.55 million (US6,130), a significant increase from last year’s 553 notes worth HK6,220. Three major cryptocurrency-related fraud cases led to the confiscation of 1,693 […]
Bitcoin News
Counterfeit Ledger App Scams Crypto Users Out of Over $760K on Microsoft App Store
According to onchain analyst Zachxbt, hackers got away with more than 8,000 after sneaking a counterfeit Ledger Live application into the Microsoft App Store. Out of the stolen stash, the attack netted over 16.8 bitcoins worth 8,000.
Hackers Steal Over 0,000 in Crypto Through Fake Ledger App on Microsoft Store
A phony Ledger Live application was added to the Microsoft App Store, according to a report from onchain analyst Zachxbt on Saturday. Ledger is a cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer. Since the attack, Microsoft has removed the counterfeit software from its applications store.
“Community Alert: There is currently a fake Ledger Live app on the official Microsoft App Store which resulted in 16.8+ BTC (8K) stolen,” Zachxbt posted to the social media platform X.
But the theft did not end there. Zachxbt reported that another victim with an ETH/BSC address lost 0,000 from the fake Ledger application. “How is this even possible?” one person asked Zachxbt. The analyst replied by saying that app companies “do not vet apps diligently.” A similar instance occurred with Trezor this year when a fake app called “Trezor Wallet Suite” appeared in the Apple App Store (Trezor does not have an iOS application).
Ledger: ‘We Certainly Do Report It, but Only Microsoft Can Take It Down and Work on Their Side’
March 2021 saw a devastating event for one individual who fell for a counterfeit Trezor application found in Apple’s App Store, resulting in the loss of his entire bitcoin savings. The culprits made off with 17.1 bitcoins. The victim expressed more fury toward Apple than the actual robbers in a statement to The Washington Post.
At the time, Apple said, “In the limited instances when criminals defraud our users, we take swift action against these actors as well as to prevent similar violations in the future.”
Microsoft, Apple, and Google’s app stores have inadvertently permitted numerous imposter apps masquerading as legitimate software. These applications are often crafted to phish for a user’s seed or login details with the intent to hijack their funds. Vigilance is key when verifying an app’s legitimacy; this includes scrutinizing for typos, mismatched icons or explanations, and the developer’s contact details.
Ledger’s support team alerted the Twitter community to the counterfeit application. “Hey Ledger users. Beware of fake Ledger Live apps published on the Microsoft Store. The only safe place to download Ledger Live is on our website. Ledger will NEVER ask you for your 24-word recovery phrase. Stay safe.” Ledger further explained that the company also alerted Microsoft as well as the community.
What do you think about the fake Ledger app that made it into the Microsoft store? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Paypal’s New Stablecoin Sparks Confusion: Wave of Counterfeit Tokens Flood Decentralized Exchanges
Following the announcement by Paypal of the introduction of a novel stablecoin asset named PYUSD, a wave of counterfeit Paypal tokens has emerged on decentralized exchange (dex) platforms, including Uniswap. The absence of an official release of PYUSD’s token address by Paypal or Paxos has paved the way for the creation of these fraudulent tokens, crafted to ensnare unwary traders.
Crypto Community Has Yet to Verify Paypal’s Official Token Contract; Scam Tokens Proliferate
On August 7, 2023, Paypal unveiled a new stablecoin, tethered to the value of the U.S. dollar. Both Paxos and Paypal have disseminated information about the stablecoin on their individual websites, although the token contract is conspicuously absent from these online portals.
on the look out for @PayPal’s $PYUSD token contract
— juliettech (@_juliettech) August 7, 2023
Paxos has outlined that the stablecoin’s inaugural attestation report is scheduled for publication in September 2023. Although no specific contract details are provided, it’s been disclosed that PYUSD will be an ERC20-based token, functioning on the Ethereum platform.
The absence of the PYUSD minting process at this juncture seems highly plausible. Some are speculating that a specific contract, viewable on etherscan, could be the official one, but official confirmation remains pending. Others have pointed this specific contract as PYUSD but people are uncertain.
This uncertainty has sparked a degree of confusion, as deceptive tokens branded “PYUSD and Paypal Coin” have infiltrated dex markets like Uniswap. For example, an unauthorized and counterfeit token dubbed “Paypal Coin” has been drawing significant attention today, in the wake of the announcement.
A slew of these fraudulent Paypal tokens is circulating through dex protocols, likely swindling individuals out of their money. Several savvy members of the crypto community have alerted Paypal to this perplexing situation.
One individual advised Paypal on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “You should list the ERC20 contract address for PYUSD on your landing page, this way we’re certain it’s the right token when trading outside of Paypal.” As of 12:00 p.m. (ET) on Monday, August 7, 2023, Paypal has yet to display PYUSD’s ERC20 token contract.
What do you think about the confusion surrounding Paypal’s token contract? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Terra’s Do Kwon Receives 4-Month Jail Sentence in Montenegro for Counterfeit Passport Usage
Montenegro’s court has determined that Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, is guilty of using a counterfeit Costa Rican passport. As a result, he has been sentenced to four months in jail for the offense.
Do Kwon Sentenced to 122 Days in Prison, Defendant Has 8 Days to Appeal
According to the Montenegrin court, Do Kwon, also known as Kwon Do-Hyung, has been convicted of possessing and attempting to use a counterfeit passport. The court’s announcement specifies that Kwon has been found guilty of the criminal offense of document forgery. Montenegrin law enforcement authorities will seize Kwon’s travel documents, which include a Costa Rican passport, a Belgian passport, and two other forms of identification.
The court has imposed a four-month jail sentence on Kwon, as stated in a translated court statement that mentions “all relevant circumstances were taken into consideration in determining the severity of the sentence.” Kwon has an eight-day window to lodge an appeal following the receipt of a written copy of the court’s judgment.
Kwon’s sentencing comes after the former executive of Terraform Labs was granted bail, with a set amount of 5,000. Nevertheless, the Montenegrin High Court unequivocally revoked the lower court’s bail ruling on May 24, 2023. Marija Rakovic, a court spokeswoman, directly relayed this official information to Bloomberg.
So far, Kwon has been incarcerated in Montenegro for a cumulative period of 88 days. Unless he files an appeal against the verdict, it is anticipated that he will serve an additional 122 days in jail. Reports indicate that Montenegro’s prisons are overcrowded and deemed distressing. Meanwhile, both South Korea and the United States are actively pursuing the establishment of an extradition treaty with Montenegro, aiming to bring Kwon to face charges in their respective countries.
What are your thoughts on the four-month jail sentence handed to the co-founder of Terraform Labs for using a counterfeit passport? Share your views and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Kaspersky Uncovers Counterfeit Trezor Wallets That Jeopardize Crypto Assets With Pre-Knowledge of Private Key
Kaspersky, the multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider, made a startling revelation on May 10th. According to their report, a victim of a crypto hack had unwittingly purchased a counterfeit Trezor Model T from a “trusted seller through a popular classifieds website.” The researchers at Kaspersky were able to extract the custom firmware that the hackers had installed on the device. This revealed that the private key was already known to the hackers before the victim had even purchased the machine.
Cybersecurity Firm Kaspersky Investigates Phony Trezor Hardware Wallet
It seems crypto enthusiasts need to be extra cautious about counterfeit Trezor hardware wallets circulating in the market, designed with the malicious intent of pilfering cryptocurrency holdings. This unsettling revelation underscores the imperative for heightened prudence and attentiveness when acquiring hardware devices related to digital currencies.
Kaspersky, the Russia-based cybersecurity firm, exposed this disconcerting development on May 10, 2023, subsequent to an examination of a forged Trezor Model T that had successfully stolen a victim’s virtual funds. The unsuspecting victim acquired the counterfeit Trezor from a “reliable vendor on a well-known online marketplace.”
Furthermore, the device’s packaging was meticulously sealed and utilized Trezor’s tamper-resistant holographic labels typically affixed to their products. “At first cursory glance, the wallet we examined appeared to be exactly the same as a genuine one, and showed no signs of tampering,” stated the researchers at Kaspersky. Yet, on a fateful occasion, “a large sum of money was transferred to someone else” a few weeks after the victim loaded the wallet with their cryptocurrency assets.
In an intriguing twist, Kaspersky also revealed that the fraudulent hardware wallet executed unauthorized transactions without even being connected to a computer. “When handling the wallet, nothing felt suspicious either: all the functions worked as they should, and the user interface was no different from the original one. However, mindful of the theft that had occurred via it, we delved deeper,” explained Kaspersky.
A notable cause for concern arose when the counterfeit Trezor was found to possess bootloader version 2.0.4., a bootloader release that was deliberately omitted due to previous instances involving counterfeit devices. Gaining access to the internal components proved challenging due to copious amounts of adhesive and tape, a stark departure from Trezor’s meticulous ultrasonic bonding technique.
Moreover, distinct traces of soldering were evident, alongside the presence of an “entirely different microcontroller.” Kaspersky unveiled that their experts successfully extracted the counterfeit wallet’s firmware and, through painstaking code reconstruction, made a startling revelation: “attackers indeed knew the private key in advance.” Armed with this information, the attackers could commandeer the funds through an alternate wallet employing the same private key, thereby pilfering the valuable assets.
“The fake crypto wallet would operate as normal, but the attackers had full control over it from the very beginning,” Kaspersky detailed. “According to the transaction history, they were in no hurry, waiting a whole month after the wallet was credited for the first time before they grabbed the money. The owner had no protection whatsoever: the game was lost from the very moment the money first arrived in the Trojan wallet.”
The recent revelation serves as a stark reminder that individuals invested in cryptocurrencies must exercise heightened vigilance to safeguard their valuable digital assets. Over the years, attackers have honed their techniques for pilfering crypto holdings, presenting an ever-present threat.
While hardware wallets have long been regarded as a trusted solution, users must now grapple with the risks entangled within the intricate web of supply chains and so-called reputable vendors. Kaspersky’s groundbreaking discovery underscores the pressing need for individuals to exercise utmost diligence when entrusting significant sums of funds to a hardware device.
What steps do you think crypto enthusiasts should take to protect their digital assets from the growing threat of counterfeit hardware wallets? Share your insights and strategies in the comments section below.
Corporate NFT – The Antidote To Counterfeit Products
It has long been said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. The rapid development of technology, shortening the production chains and product life cycle, new distribution models developed by the world’s largest corporations, the progressive shift of retail trade to the web, changes in consumer habits and the ever-increasing dominance of large internet platforms, meant that this sentence should now read: copying is the simplest form of theft.
Radosław Krzycki , COO Skey Network
According to one of the best current studies of this type, the OECD report on world trade and counterfeit goods, in 2019 the share of counterfeit products in global trade was 3.3% and was growing rapidly.
In the European Union itself, the share of counterfeit goods was even higher and accounted for 6.8% of imports. Importantly, this number does not include counterfeits produced within the EU countries and their distribution via the Internet (so in reality it is probably much higher).
According to the estimates of the ICC – the International Chamber of Commerce, the value of the trade in counterfeit products will increase to almost one trillion dollars in 2022, and the number of jobs lost will be between 4.2 and 5.4 million.
More difficult to estimate is the size of counterfeit digital goods, which increases in direct proportion to the traffic and importance of the global network. In 2022, piracy of music, movies, series and software will cost up to $ 854 billion in losses.
How do you stay authentic in a world that is becoming more and more artificial and repetitive? How to transfer quality, value and brand reputation from the physical to the digital world without losing the attributes of originality?
The answer is provided by blockchain technology and its latest version – NFT – (non-fungible token). In short – it is a unique, inimitable piece of information stored in the blockchain data chain, constituting a kind of digital “tag” and a certificate that guarantees the originality of a non-physical product or work.
With the help of NFT tokens, we can confirm that the product we have purchased comes from a legal source, was produced by exactly this company or a specific artist.
Today, the real world is more and more often mixed with the digital world, and NFTs combine both dimensions.
Let’s take an example product – a bag from a reputable manufacturer X. When you buy it in a store in a shopping center, you get a real product with a sewn-in tag, logo and barcode on the label.
By applying the NFT technology to the sales process, the client, when purchasing a physical product, receives an additional, special code (e.g. QR), which gives him the right to have an equivalent of an exemplary bag in the digital world, with all the advantages – prestige, a certificate of originality, a value carrier or the right to resale.
What are the advantages of this solution for companies?
It is not only an effective method of fighting counterfeit and piracy, but the first step to the digital transformation of their brands and a smooth transition to the world of the metaverse, as well as gaining new markets and entering dynamically growing sales channels. An additional advantage is building the image of the company as modern, quickly adapting to changes and attractive for the youngest, technologically conscious consumer segment.
It is worth emphasizing – this is not an investment dedicated only to premium brands, as evidenced by the movements of companies such as Nike, which bought the creator of NFTs and shoes existing only in virtual space. The mass use of this solution is only a matter of time. Probably in the near future, the authenticity of each product can be confirmed on the Internet by scanning its code / label. They will not only be a carrier of value (because who would not like to have shoes that never deteriorate, look like new and can always be sold), but a real source of income for their owners and creators. An example is the popular “skins” in computer games, that is, graphical modifications of the appearance of a character or part of their outfit. One of these skins in CS: GO recently sold for $ 150,000.
What will the future hold? In Q3 2021, the NFT market exploded to $ 10.7 billion, up from just $ 1.3 billion in Q2. The vast majority of sales were made by NFTs from the “cheap” segment, ie those with prices between 0-100 and 100-1000 dollars. This confirms the thesis that the solution is universal for every company, not only those from the premium segment.
As you can see, the entry threshold is rather low and the growth potential is very high. In entering this new, lucrative market, the key is to choose the right technology – the provider and type of blockchain on which we want to base our digital products. There are still relatively few companies with the appropriate know-how and experience in this field.
To be successful, you need to act boldly, decisively, and most importantly – quickly, and grab the bull by the horns. Only more and more often it turns out that the bull does not have to be material …
US Researchers Develop Blockchain Protocol to Fight Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals
n Portland State University researchers have created a blockchain protocol to fight counterfeit pharmaceuticalsn
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Tencent to Use the Blockchain to Derail China’s Counterfeit Invoice Industry
Sellers of counterfeit, illegally-made receipts help businesses take advantage of tax loopholes in China, but that’s set to change with the application of blockchain technology in the handling of digital invoices.
Disrupting China’s Counterfeit Invoice Market
Faked official invoices are big business in China. One person who creates these legal proof of payments — “fapiao” in Chinese – calls herself Mrs. Wang.
She claims that in just 24-hours a fake receipt can be created that is guaranteed to be verified by the country’s tax system. For her efforts, Wang charges 2% of the fake receipt’s face value after it is verified.
“Let me know your company name, the amount of money and the sales item. I can have it ready and mail it to you tomorrow,” said Wang, speaking with the South China Morning Post.
In attempts to fightback against these counterfeit fapiaos, Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings has teamed up with the Shenzhen branch of the State Administration of Taxation to develop a blockchain-based digital invoice solution, which is designed to protect the authenticity of invoices by tracking the process of issuance and circulation.
The ability to trace official invoice information on the Tencent-developed blockchain will improve the government’s surveillance procedure against counterfeit fapiao, according to the company.
“We hope to make every fapiao checkable, verifiable, reliable and traceable, and use blockchain technology to manage the whole circulation process of fapiaos,” Pony Ma Huateng, Tencent’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
Huateng also reiterated that the company’s solution represents the first application of blockchain technology in the handling of digital invoices in China — a country that supports the distributed ledger technology, but isn’t too fond of cryptocurrencies themselves.
China’s Interest in Blockchain Solutions
In Shenzhen, where Tencent is based, a 500 million yuan (.3 million) local government-backed fund has recently been set up to focus on blockchain investments.
According to a release from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the government recognizes that the distributed ledger enables the secure sharing and storage of records of transactions, as well as post-trade settlements, record checking and management, and cross-border fund transfers.
This interest in the technology is not new. In fact, China helped raise the profile of blockchain when it became one of the first countries in the world to include the technology as part of a state-level policy back in 2016, when Premier Li Keqiang announced that blockchain was written into the country’s five year development plan.
Earlier this month the Chinese government put forth a blockchain rating system that pertains to public blockchain projects and cryptocurrencies. The system rates the projects on three key factors: technology, application, and innovation.
According to the index, Ethereum ranks top, followed by Steem, Lisk, NEO, and Komodo. Bitcoin is in the middle, at 13, and XEM takes last place, at 28.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
The post Tencent to Use the Blockchain to Derail China’s Counterfeit Invoice Industry appeared first on NewsBTC.
Blockchain Revolution for Luxury Industry – Counterfeit Exposed
n VeChain brings the easiest way to not only spot counterfeit products but also to give you behind the scene stories about a specific product. BLOCKSHOWn
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