Bitcoin Dip: Buy a Dubai Villa Today?
June 9, 2022
Now there is an easy way to buy property with Bitcoin—if one is looking to settle in Dubai, that is. The International Business Times reveals, “Coinsfera Makes It Easy to Buy Real Estate in Dubai with Bitcoin.” Reporter Anjali Kochhar writes:
“If a buyer is not a UAE national, then they need to have an original ID or passport to buy properties in Dubai through Bitcoin. Meanwhile, the payment through Bitcoin will be considered in US Dollars or Dirhams. The crypto exchange will help the buyers with selecting different properties at premium locations in Dubai by assigning real estate agents who will help in property dealing. After that, the company will arrange a meeting for further dealing where you can negotiate and finalize the deal. Once all things are decided, buyers can transfer the capital amount in Bitcoin through their wallet. The buyers can have possessions of the villa right after the transfer of Bitcoins. ‘Coinsfera offers luxurious apartments in the great buildings of Dubai. We will not just save your time but also your cost in the transaction process. You just have to select your apartment and we will take care of the rest,’ the statement read.”
Sounds convenient. But who are the customers? We are not sure, but some people in Russia, the Middle East, and Monaco may be interested. The service’s launch follows the passage of recent legislation designed to position the Dubai Emirate as a leader in crypto currencies, NFTs and any other virtual assets that might come along. Founded in 2015, Coinsfera is a Bitcoin exchange firm based in Dubai that also serves customers in Istanbul, London, and Kosovo.
Cynthia Murrell, June 9, 2022
CoinMarketCap User Data Leaked
November 3, 2021
The IRS may be interested in these data. Many turn to crypto currency because it is (nearly) untraceable. The major website where users go to keep up to date on crypto currency markets, however, has proven to be less secure. Gadgets360 reports, “Data of Over Three Million CoinMarketCap Users Breached, Crypto-Tracker Acknowledges.” We learn:
“Data of over three million CoinMarketCap (CMC) users was leaked earlier in October, the crypto tracker confirmed. Every day, over 27 million people from the US, India, and Japan among other nations visit the platform to price-track and stay updated on cryptocurrency, a report by statistics firm HypeStat claimed recently. This data breach comes at a time when cyber-attacks specifically targeting the crypto-community are rising in numbers, worldwide. Despite several nations still being skeptical about legalizing crypto currencies, the crypto space is witnessing rapid expansion in many parts of the world. Registered email addresses of 3,117,548 CMC users were unlawfully obtained and uploaded on hacking forums by nefarious cyber criminals on October 12, CryptoPotato reported earlier this week. These email ids are now being traded on the dark web. CMC has acknowledged this data breach while noting that the passwords of these leaked email addresses remain safe.”
We suppose that is something to be grateful for. CMC insists the data leak was not on their own servers, and is still investigating what went awry. Writer Radhika Parashar reminds us this is not the first time a crypto firm has been breached, pointing to BitMEX and Ledger as examples. Also, a recent Business Insider report identifies 32 fraud and hacking attacks on crypto targets so far this year to the tune of nearly $3 billion. The same study states the number of attacks is growing by 41% each year. Ah, secure crypto.
Cynthia Murrell, November 3, 2021
Why Big Tech Is Winning: The UK Admission
August 31, 2021
I read “UK’s FCA Say It Is Not Capable of Supervising Crypto Exchange Binance.” This is a paywalled story, and I am not sure how much attention it will get. As Spotify is learning from locking up the estimable Joe Rogan, paywalls make sense to a tiny slice of one’s potential audience.
The story is an explanation about government helplessness when it comes to fintech or financial technology. The FCA acronym means Financial Conduct Authority. Think about London. Think about the wizards who cooked up some nifty digital currency methods at assorted UK universities less than one hour from the Pickle. Think about the idea that a government agency with near instant access to the wonks at the National Crime Agency, the quiet ones at Canary Wharf, and the interesting folks in Cheltenham. Now consider this passage from the write up:
… the Financial Conduct Authority said that Binance’s UK affiliate had “failed to” respond to some of its basic queries, making it impossible to oversee the sprawling group, which has no fixed headquarters and offers services around the world. The admission underscores the scale of the challenge facing authorities in tackling potential risks to consumers buying frequently unregulated products through nimble crypto currency businesses, which can often circumvent national bans by giving users access to facilities based overseas.
Hello? Rural Kentucky calling, is anyone at work?
Let’s step back. I need to make one assumption; that is, government entities’ have authority and power. What this write up makes clear is that when it comes to technology, the tech outfits have the authority and the power.
Not good in my opinion for the “consumer” and maybe for some competitors. Definitely not good for enforcement authorities.
Who finds sun shining through the clouds after reading this Financial Times’s story? I would wager that tech centric outfits are thinking about a day or more at the beach. No worries. And look. Here comes Snoop Dog handing out free beer. What a day!
Stephen E Arnold, August 31, 2021
Cyber Crime and Crypto Currency: There Is a Link? Really?
July 15, 2021
I read a remarkable report from the diary of Captain Obvious. The entry was “Quick Take: How Cryptocurrency Turbocharged the Cybercrime Racket.” I was stunned to learn that paying for contraband, stolen videos, and Crime as a Service was helped out with allegedly anonymous digital payments “turbocharged the cybercrime racket.”
The write up reports:
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, along with the exchanges where they can be traded anonymously, have emerged as key tools for the cyber extortionists.
The article then explains how to use cryptocurrency for cyber crime, explains why bad actors love money flows which sidestep traditional financial institutions, an estimate of the amount of money stolen using cryptocurrency, a comment about how bad actors obtained payment in the pre-bitcoin days, a comment about tracing digital currency transactions, some law enforcement successes, and what steps might address this issue.
Who knew? Maybe the more than 60 vendors engaged in cyber security, the dozens of vendors monitoring obfuscated forums, and savvy bad actors who jumped at the opportunity cryptocurrency created for mixers.
It is outstanding that the Seattle Times, home of the security giant Microsoft, has revealed this startling connection between obfuscated, instant monetary transactions designed to avoid regulatory requirements of outfits like major US banks.
Pulitzer time? Absolutely. Next the hard hitting news team will report on the sun rising each morning in Seattle.
Stephen E Arnold, July
Cryptocurrency Competition at the Tallest of Ivory Towers
December 7, 2020
Ah, what better use of the finest in education than financial manipulation? We learn from cryptocurrency and Web 3.0 news source Decrypt, “Oxford, Cambridge Students Compete to Make Money on Crypto Markets.” The competition was put to math and computer science students at the two prestigious UK universities by crypto algorithmic trading firm APEX:E3. The firm also brought Coinbase, FTX, SIX Digital Exchange, LMAX Digital, and ConsenSys in on the project. Reporter Robert Stevens writes:
“Since November 16, the students have been competing to make the most money from crypto exchanges Coinbase Pro and FTX, according to a press release APEX:E3 pushed out this morning. APEX:E3 said that students have already spent their days conjuring up algorithms that incorporate technologies and concepts as diverse as machine-learning, neural networks, and whale order trading. In return for their toils, APEX:E3 is providing Oxford and Cambridge students from math and computer science departments access to its APIs, technical support, mentorship, and an undisclosed amount of ‘seed funding.’ … When the competition concludes at some point next month, the clocks will stop and a panel of ‘industry leading judges’ will rate the teams on their algorithms.”
The winning team gets to keep that mysterious amount of seed funding plus their returns. Cambridge is billing the project as a “fun and risk-free way” for these handpicked students to learn about the cryptocurrency industry. It also looks like a cheap and salary-free way for the industry to pick some of the brightest young minds for profitable ideas. A win-win, I suppose.
Soon Facebook’s carpe diem will arrive and more excitement shall ensue.
Cynthia Murrell, December 7, 2020
India Finance: Sharia Issue
March 9, 2020
DarkCyber found the information in “Sharia Fintech”: Startups Race to Tap Indonesia Growth by Aligning with Islam” suggestive. Is the information spot on? Possibly, the source makes a great effort to explain trust. The main point of the write up strikes DarkCyber as:
Winning over conservative Muslims like Iswara in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country is both a challenge and multi-billion dollar opportunity for fintech firms that are riding its mobile internet boom and aim to sell financial services. Of Indonesia’s 270 million population, half lacks bank accounts but most now have mobile phones.
Implications? A handful.
Stephen E Arnold, March 9, 2020
Hackers Steal Millions in Cryptocurrency from Cryptopia
June 15, 2019
As the use of cryptocurrency continues to grow, more hackers are inspired to rob the digital vaults.
Medium reveals, “Hackers Allegedly Steal Millions from Cryptopia, a Cryptocurrency Exchange in New Zealand.” Naturally, local authorities and New Zealand’s high-tech crimes unit are on the case, but have not named a suspect. Writer Asgardia.space tells us:
“On January 13th, 19,391 ETH (Ethereum) worth around $2.5 million and 48,029,306 CENNZ tokens (Centrality) worth about $1.18 million were transferred from Cryptopia exchange to unknown wallets. As of now, the owner of the wallet is not yet confirmed. It could be the exchange itself or the hackers. The growing number of exchange hackings has caused a negative reputation to spread with cryptocurrencies. In 2018, CoinCheck, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, was hacked, and approximately $500 million of funds were stolen. If these crimes continue to happen then newcomers in the crypto space will lose trust in cryptocurrencies and in turn, the whole cryptocurrency market will suffer.”
Gee, who could have foreseen that digital currency would be vulnerable to cyber criminals? Industry leaders now advise that anyone brave enough to continue using cryptocurrency choose decentralized exchanges, which are considered safer than centralized exchanges. For its part, Cryptopia remains shuttered until the problem is resolved.
Cynthia Murrell, June 15, 2019
FnaS or Fake News as a Service Is Now a Thing
January 30, 2018
The above acronym “FNaS” is our own invention for “fake news as a service”; if you did not catch on it is a play on SaS or software as a service. We never thought that this was a possible job, but someone saw a niche and filled it. According to Unhinged Group in the article, “Fake News ‘As A Service’ Booming Among Cybercrooks” describes how this is a new market for ne’er do wells. It does make sense that fake news would be a booming business because there are many organizations and people who want to take advantage of the public’s gullibility.
This is especially true for political and religious folks, who have a lot of power to sway those in power. Digital Shadows, however, conducted a research survey and discovered that fake news services are hired to damage reputations and cause financial distress for organizations through disinformation campaigns.
How does this work?
The firm’s research stated that these services are often associated with “Pump and Dump” scams, schemes that aggressively promote penny stocks to inflate their prices before the inevitable crash and burn. Scammers buy low, hope that their promotions let the sell high, then flee with their loot and little regard for other investors.
A cryptocurrency variant of the same schemes has evolved and involves gradually purchasing major shares in altcoin (cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin) and drumming up interest in the coin through posts on social media. The tool then trades these coins between multiple accounts, driving the price up, before selling to unsuspecting traders on currency exchanges looking to buy while prices are still rising.
One “Pump and Dump” service analysis discovered that they made an equivalent of $326,000 for ne’er do wells in less than two months. Even worse is that Digital Shadows found more than ten services that sell social media bot software for as low as $7.
It is not difficult to create a fake “legitimate” news site. All it takes is a fake domain, cloning services, and backlinking to exploit these fake news stories. Real legitimate news outlets and retailers are also targets. Anyone and anything can be a target.
Whitney Grace, January 30, 2018
FNaS Or Fake News As A Service Is Now A Thing
January 24, 2018
The above acronym “FNaS” is our own invention for “fake news as a service”; if you did not catch on it is a play on SaS or software as a service. We never thought that this was a possible job, but someone saw a niche and filled it. According to Unhinged Group in the article, “Fake News ‘As A Service’ Booming Among Cybercrooks” describes how this is a new market for ne’er do wells. It does make sense that fake news would be a booming business because there are many organizations and people who want to take advantage of the public’s gullibility.
This is especially true for political and religious folks, who have a lot of power to sway those in power. Digital Shadows, however, conducted a research survey and discovered that fake news services are hired to damage reputations and cause financial distress for organizations through disinformation campaigns.
How does this work?
The firm’s research stated that these services are often associated with “Pump and Dump” scams, schemes that aggressively promote penny stocks to inflate their prices before the inevitable crash and burn. Scammers buy low, hope that their promotions let the sell high, then flee with their loot and little regard for other investors.
A cryptocurrency variant of the same schemes has evolved and involves gradually purchasing major shares in altcoin (cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin) and drumming up interest in the coin through posts on social media. The tool then trades these coins between multiple accounts, driving the price up, before selling to unsuspecting traders on currency exchanges looking to buy while prices are still rising.
One “Pump and Dump” service analysis discovered that they made an equivalent of $326,000 for ne’er do wells in less than two months. Ever worse is that Digital Shadows found more than ten services that sell social media bot software for as low as $7.
It is not difficult to create a fake “legitimate” news site. All it takes is a fake domain, cloning services, and backlinking to exploit these fake news stories. Real legitimate news outlets and retailers are also targets. Anyone and anything can be a target.
Whitney Grace, January 24, 2018
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