Phishing victim sends eye-watering $4.5M in USDT to scammer

September 21, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Phishing victim sends eye-watering .5M in USDT to scammer

On-chain data shows the $4.5 million was first transferred from the Kraken crypto exchange, before eventually arriving at an address purportedly owned by a scammer.

An unwitting cryptocurrency holder has reportedly fallen victim to an eye-watering $4.46 million phishing scam.

According to data from Etherscan, $4.46 million in Tether (USDT) was withdrawn from a Kraken crypto exchange wallet and eventually sent to an address ending “ACa7.”

Blockchain security firm PeckShield, has labeled the address as being owned by a phishing scammer.

#PeckShieldAlert The address 0x2175...f7D9 got scammed for 4.46M $USDT
Victim's address: 0x2175c0082d052872501f7fe54e1aC59858aaf7D9
Scammer's address: 0xAbb07822F471773Ff00b9444308ceEB7cf0dACa7 pic.twitter.com/Ny9CIrkBxw
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 21, 2023

Another blockchain scam platform, Scam Sniffer, suggested on Sept. 20 that the funds were sent to an address linked to a “fake Coinone crypto mining exchange."

someone withdrew $4.46 million from Kraken to a fake Coinone crypto-mining exchange about 1 hour ago.https://t.co/ued55jlWdM pic.twitter.com/tsV5BGDY0O
— Scam Sniffer (@realScamSniffer) September 20, 2023

Scam Sniffer linked to a user-created Dune Analytics dashboard, suggesting attacks of this nature have seen scammers steal approximately $337.1 million USDT in total, impacting as many as 21,953 individuals.

*@tayvano’s Dune Analytics dashboard on USDT Approval Scams. Source: Dune Analytics.*

The Global Anti-Scam organization says this type of approval mining scam usually tricks victims into authorizing unlimited withdrawals from their cryptocurrency wallet.

“When you create a self-custody crypto wallet [...] you obtain a "private key" that is safeguarded through encryption. However, the fraudsters do not need your seed phrase,” GASO said, explaining on its website that when a victim clicks to partake in the fake mining pool, they’re clicking on a button that will request a $10 to $50 network fee in Ether (ETH).

While it seems reasonable, GASO suggests it is part of to trick the user:

“This is merely a front to obtain your digitally signed authorization, allowing unlimited access to your wallet via the USDT smart contract.”

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KuCoin denies mass layoffs, says cuts are part of normal operations

July 26, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

KuCoin has shut down rumors that it would be laying off 30% of its workforce but admitted there may be some “personnel adjustments” in the future.

Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has shut down rumors suggesting it was preparing to lay off 30% of its workforce — a figure that amounts to approximately 300 staff — in the coming weeks.

“We want to clarify that KuCoin has not initiated any alleged layoff plans,” a KuCoin spokesperson told Cointelegraph, adding that that any potential cuts are part of a broader plan to expand on the firm’s business development:

“As part of the company’s business development and semi-annual employee performance review, there might be some personnel adjustments as needed, which is a normal process in organizational development.”

Addressing the layoff rumors, Kucoin CEO Johnny Lyu said in a July 25 tweet that the crypto exchange is still operating smoothly. Lyu explained that any potential staff cuts would be part of a semi-annual employee performance evaluation, which he said is part of remaining “competitive and dynamic” in the fast-paced crypto sector.

2/ First things first, KuCoin is operating smoothly. Our recent H1 2023 report shows strong growth in users and new listings, and our talented team is expanding steadily.
— Johnny_KuCoin (@lyu_johnny) July 25, 2023

The clarification from KuCoin appeared to be in response to a July 25 post by independent journalist Wu Blockchain that claimed that KuCoin would soon lay off 30% of its workforce due to a strict Know Your Customer policy in the United States, which had led to a decline in the exchange's profits.

However, Wu Blockchain later backtracked on the claims after Lyu confirmed the staff cuts were part of a normal performance appraisal.

KuCoin responded that it is a normal performance appraisal. KuCoin is actively embracing compliance and focusing on core business development.
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 25, 2023

KuCoin didn’t clarify the percentage of staff that would be cut and which positions would be most impacted.

According to KuCoin, the company currently employs around 1,000 staff worldwide, a figure Lyu claims is steadily increasing.

The decline in crypto asset prices throughout 2022 forced many of the industry’s heavyweights in Binance, Coinbase and Kraken to significantly reduce headcounts significantly.

Binance has reportedly laid off over 1000 employees since May 31 this year, while Coinbase laid off 18% and then another 20% of its staff in June 2022 and in January 20, respectively. In November, Kraken released 1,100 employees, which amounted to roughly 30% of its workforce at the time.

However, recent data from March 2023, suggests the rate of layoffs throughout the crypto industry may now be decelerating.

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Doubts mount over Huobi’s future as harsh layoff rumors denied

January 6, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Canceled bonuses, pay disputes, massive layoffs and a communication blackout has been claimed as part of the goings-on at the crypto exchange.

Speculation on Twitter that crypto exchange Huobi has laid off staff and shuttered internal communications have prompted the community to advise users to withdraw funds, despite an adviser to the exchange denying the rumors.

In a Jan. 5 tweet, Huobi adviser Justin Sun addressed rumors of purported insolvency, saying the business development of the exchange was “good” and the “security of users’ assets will always be fully protected.”

Sun also seemingly brushed off speculation around disgruntled staff, saying Huobi will “fully respect the legal demands of local employees.”

Earlier, on Jan. 3, crypto journalist Colin Wu reported that Sun changed Huobi employee salaries from being paid in fiat to being paid in either Tether (USDT) or USD Coin (USDC). Wu claimed thstaff who disagreed with the change could be laid off.

Justin Sun's HR is communicating with all Huobi employees to change the salary form from fiat currency to USDT/USDC; employees who cannot accept it may be dismissed. The move sparked protests from some employees. Exclusive https://t.co/QB4sjDyHc7
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 4, 2023

Citing insiders, Wu reported in December that Huobi canceled year-end bonuses and was preparing to cut up to half of its 1,200 staff.

The move to change the salary payment from fiat to stablecoins sparked protests from some employees, according to Wu.

A Jan. 4 tweet from the Twitter account BitRun claimed that a “communication group with internal employees” at the exchange had been shut down and “all communication and feedback channels with employees” were blocked.

BitRun added they weren’t ruling out a revolt by Huobi employees who could “directly rug away user assets or programmers add backdoor Trojan horses” claiming the practice was “not protected by domestic laws.”

Huobi is based in Seychelles, with offices in Hong Kong, the United States, Japan and South Korea. It’s a publicly listed company on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

The ominous warning was enough for one Twitter user to claim Huobi “seems to be melting down in real-time” and others suggested users withdraw funds from the exchange due to the rumors.

If you are using Huobi
Do consider withdrawing assets till the FUD blows over

Some rather negative sentiment and accusations are going around Twitter aimed against Huobi.

Unverified so do your own due diligence and risk management accordingly.
— RossStephenson.eth (@magicross7) January 6, 2023

Huobi Token (HT) is down nearly 7% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.

Cointelegraph contacted Huobi for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

CoinList addresses ‘FUD’ on withdrawals, cites technical issues for delays

November 25, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bank Run

CoinList blamed “custodian issues” with one suffering an outage affecting “many tokens” on the platform as the reason for reported withdrawal problems.

Cryptocurrency exchange and Initial Coin Offering (ICO) platform CoinList took to Twitter to address “FUD” after a blogger tweeted that users reported being unable to withdraw funds for over a week, sparking fears the company was having liquidity issues or w insolvent.

“There is a lot of FUD going around that we would like to address head-on,” CoinList said in a Nov. 24 Twitter thread that stated the exchange is “not insolvent, illiquid, or near bankruptcy.” It said however that its deposits and withdrawals are affected by “technical issues.”

2/ We are upgrading our internal ledger systems and are migrating wallet addresses involving multiple custodians.

This is one of many efforts we are undertaking to offer our customers around the world better products and services while maintaining compliance.
— CoinList (@CoinList) November 24, 2022

Crypto-focused blogger Colin Wu had earlier tweeted to his 245,000 followers that “some community members” using CoinList have been unable to withdraw for over a week due to maintenance.

CoinList has a $35 million creditor claim with bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital which Wu said in his tweet was a “loss,” that likely triggered concerns the company was insolvent or illiquid.

Looking to dampen fears that have seen bank runs on other platforms, CoinList explained that an upgrade to its internal systems and a migration of wallet addresses that involves “multiple custodians” is being undertaken.

The company cited unexplained “custodian issues” as the reason a selection of cryptocurrencies “are taking longer than anticipated to migrate” with one of its unnamed custodian partners suffering from an “outage [...] unrelated to the migration” on Nov. 23 which impacted tokens on the platform.

Its status page shows “degraded performance” for withdrawals, with four cryptocurrencies unavailable for withdrawal since Nov. 15, and one experiencing delayed deposits since Nov. 16.

“Once again, this is purely a technical issue, not a liquidity crunch,” CoinList said. It claimed to hold “all user assets dollar for dollar” and noted it plans to publish its proof of reserves.

Cointelegraph has contacted CoinList for more information but did not immediately receive a response.

CoinList claimed on Nov. 14 that it had no exposure to the now-bankrupt FTX exchange, but users are increasingly nervous about centralized platforms and have rushed to ensure safe custody of their assets as evidenced by the surge in sales reported in mid-November by hardware wallet providers Trezor and Ledger.

Around the same time, outflows of Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins from exchanges hit historic highs and a corresponding uptick in activity was seen on decentralized exchanges.