Cryptocurrency News Official TheBitTimes.com

Blackmail and ransomware are the most common crypto scams, a new research shows. Explore how to protect your funds. Cryptocurrencies have promised innovation but have also seen their fair share of wrongdoing, especially in the form of scams that have left investors counting their losses. According to Chainanalysis, while the first half of 2023 saw a reduction in crypto scam revenue by nearly $3.3 billion compared to 2022, totaling just over $1.0 billion, ransomware remained a persistent issue. Ransomware attackers managed to extort approximately $175.8 million more during this period than in the previous year. Meanwhile, in the third quarter of 2023 alone, the number of crypto hacks and scams skyrocketed by nearly 60% compared to the same period in 2022, with nearly $686 million lost to fraudulent activities. A notable incident within this period was the Mixin hack on Sep. 25, where attackers made away with roughly $200 million. Let’s delve deeper and explore various types of scam...

Blockchain security firm Peckshield on Twitter said it has found dozens of pump-and-dump tokens purporting to be related to ChatGPT. Blockchain security firm Peckshield has raised the alarm after finding dozens of tokens purporting to be related to artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbot ChatGPT. In a Feb. 20 post, the firm revealed at least three "BingChatGPT" tokens appear to be part of honeypot schemes — a smart contract that tricks a user into sending Ethereum (ETH), which the attacker then traps and retrieves. Some of the addresses reportedly associated with the BingChatGPT tokens. Source: PeckShield According to Peckshield, at least two of the tokens identified have already lost nearly 100% of their value, while a third is at a 65% loss — in what is often referred to as a “pump and dump” scheme or “rug pull.” A pump-and-dump scheme typically involves the creators orchestrating a campaign of misleading statements and hype to persuade investors into purchasing tok...