Trezor Initiates Investigation as Phishing Campaign Targets Crypto Hardware Wallet Users ⚠️

🔼Trezor, a cryptocurrency hardware wallet company, is currently investigating a potential data breach due to an ongoing email phishing campaign.

📣 On October 26, the anonymous blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported a phishing attack targeting Trezor users via his Telegram channel. ZachXBT cited a post on X (formerly Twitter) from the account JHDN, which raised concerns that Trezor might have experienced a breach.

🔴These concerns were based on the receipt of phishing emails sent to the specific email accounts used for purchasing Trezor wallets, suggesting a potential compromise of user data. Users reported receiving phishing emails encouraging them to install an app from the domain’ trezorus,’ which is different from the official ‘trezorio’ domain.

🔍 Trezor is investigating the extent of the breach, and until further notice, users are advised not to click on links from unauthorized sources to safeguard their security. Trezor’s brand ambassador, Josef Tetek, confirmed the awareness of the phishing campaign and outlined the company’s ongoing efforts to combat such threats.

➡️Robinhood Agrees $600 Million Buyback of Seized Sam Bankman-Fried HOOD Stake From US Marshal Service

On August 30, Robinhood entered into a $605.7 million (HOOD) share buyback agreement with the US Marshal Service (USMS) to reclaim shares formerly held by Same Bankman-Fried (SBF) through Emergent Fidelity Technologies.

At the beginning of this year, the US government took possession of the 55 million HOOD shares owned by Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, co-founders of FTX, through their holding company, Emergent Fidelity Technologies, after Bankman-Fried's cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, and Emergent filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022.

Last November, just six months before Bankman-Fried's company filed for bankruptcy, he disclosed a 7.6% stake in Robinhood.

However, he clarified that he had no intention of taking control of the retail trading platform. At that time, he expressed excitement about Robinhood's business prospects and potential collaboration opportunities with FTX.

According to a US Securities and Exchange Commission Filing dated August 30, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York approved the share repurchase agreement on August 28.

📌No, SpaceX Isn't the Cause of This Multi-Billion Dollar Bitcoin Bloodbath

This was the first thought that crossed the mind of Reetika, a Dubai-based bitcoin (BTC) and crypto trader, during her usual routine of checking prices after waking up.

An unexpected and major sell-off in the crypto markets jolted what was an otherwise boring few weeks for crypto and the sentiment was likely shared worldwide among traders and crypto hopefuls, Reetika told CoinDesk in a message.

Bitcoin plunged on Thursday as traders sold the tokens en masse based on several unrelated catalysts, causing the crypto markets to lose 6.7% in overall capitalization in what marked one of the biggest drops in recent months.

In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin fell as much as 9% to $25,000 from $28,500 on Binance, leading to a market-wide fall that sent major tokens like litecoin (LTC) tumbling by 14%. This caused more than $1 billion in crypto futures to be liquidated, a 14-month high.

Some pointed to space exploration company SpaceX’s supposed bitcoin sales – an unsubstantiated claim – while others said the bankruptcy of China Evergreen’s may have had something to do with the fall. However, neither of these events may have impacted prices.

SpaceX merely wrote down the value of its bitcoin holdings, as per a WSJ report. Among accountants, that is the reduction in the book value of an asset when its fair market value has fallen below the book value.

Asset write-downs are common among businesses – as it reduces the value of any holdings for tax purposes. As of Asian morning hours on Friday, SpaceX did not confirm, or report, any sales of its bitcoin holdings. As such, it remains unknown how much bitcoin or crypto the Elon Musk-owned company holds.

✔️Metaverse to help tackle global warming: Study

A recent study suggests that the metaverse, a virtual 3D environment where the physical and digital worlds merge, has the potential to contribute to the reduction of global surface temperatures by up to 0.02 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

Published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science, the study highlights the metaverse's ability to lower greenhouse gas emissions, decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.

The study emphasizes the potential benefits of metaverse-based remote working, distance learning, and virtual tourism in improving air quality.

By reducing transportation and commercial energy usage, the metaverse can also contribute to transforming energy distribution, with a greater energy supply directed towards the residential sector.

OneCoin’s Head of Legal and Compliance Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud and Money Laundering Charges


🔼OneCoin’s legal chief pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire fraud charges, according to a statement released today from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

‼️Bulgarian national Irina Dilkinska, 42, faces up to 10 years in prison for her role in OneCoin’s notorious crypto fraud scheme. In a Manhattan federal court, Dilkinska confessed to aiding in the laundering of $110 million in illicit profits generated through OneCoin, as well as assisting in the running of day-to-day operations at the fraudulent firm. Her sentencing hearing has been scheduled for February 14 next year.

🟢Dilkinska was previously charged in March and extradited from Bulgaria to the United States.

💬 “As OneCoin’s so-called ‘Head of Legal and Compliance’ Irina Dilkinska accomplished the exact opposite goal of her position,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “As she has now admitted, Dilkinska facilitated the laundering of millions of dollars of illicit profits OneCoin accrued through its multi-level-marketing scheme.”

🔔OneCoin was a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme conducted by Bulgaria-based company OneCoin Ltd and Belize-based OneLife Network Ltd, founded by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood. OneCoin covertly engaged in a database entry scam that mimicked transactions absent from a genuine blockchain, and there was no mining activity supporting the purported release and circulation of the cryptocurrency.

South Korean Police Shut Down ‘International Crypto Fraud’ Ring, Freeze $1.2m

📣 South Korean police have swooped on a group of suspected “international” crypto fraudsters, freezing over $12 million and arresting 49.

‼️ Newsis reported that the Cyber Investigation Department of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has “arrested a total of 49 people, including the six suspected leaders of six separate organizations.”

🔔 The group has been charged with fraud, with officers suspecting the group of “operating a fake cryptoasset investment site.” The site was mainly used to attract overseas investors in locations including the Philippines, police spokespeople explained.

⚠️ Police think the group was active from September 2020 until April last year, and that it managed to raise over $11.5 million from at least 253 victims. Officers think the group targeted potential victims by buying personal data leaked to the internet. And police claimed the group had bought access to “1.62 million pieces of illegally acquired personal information.”

🔼According to police sources, the group also tried to lure would-be investors onto their site by “randomly distributing” promotional messages to public crypto-related chat app groups.