Topic: US charges two Russian crypto hackers - page 3. (Read 807 times)

If i were a major government I would have at least Two mixers under my control.

It is so easy to do for them. Run it legit until someone moves a lot of “bad” coins and seize them for auction.

If i were a major government I would have at least Two mixers under my control.

It is so easy to do for them. Run it legit until someone moves a lot of “bad” coins and seize them for auction.

I would say that these hackers didn't take care of their footprints and that's why the US government was able to follow their tracks and identify them through their names.

So I agree that it's only one part of the equation, and that's why perhaps government are offering a $625,000 now on someone who can break Monero because most likely hackers are going to used it instead of Bitcoin and US government wanted to stay on top of the game. And because Bitcoin are no longer viable crypto for these criminals as they are easily been identified by blockchain analysis.

I would say that these hackers didn't take care of their footprints and that's why the US government was able to follow their tracks and identify them through their names.

Washington - Today, in a coordinated action with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two Russian nationals for their involvement in a sophisticated phishing campaign in 2017 and 2018 that targeted customers of two U.S.-based and one foreign-based virtual asset service providers. American citizens and businesses were among the victims of this malicious cyber-enabled activity, which resulted in combined losses of at least $16.8 million.

“The individuals who administered this scheme defrauded American citizens, businesses, and others by deceiving them and stealing virtual currency from their accounts,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “The Treasury Department will continue to use our authorities to target cybercriminals and remains committed to the safe and secure use of emerging technologies in the financial sector.”

Danil Potekhin (Potekhin) and Dmitrii Karasavidi (Karasavidi) are being designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13694, as amended by E.O. 13757, which targets malicious cyber-enabled activities, including those related to the significant misappropriation of funds or personal identifiers for private financial gain. Potekhin and Karasavidi are also the subjects of an indictment unsealed today by the Department of Justice.

Potekhin created numerous web domains that mimicked those of legitimate virtual currency exchanges. This tactic, known as spoofing, exploits Internet users’ trust in known companies and organizations to fraudulently obtain their personal information. When unwitting customers accessed Potekhin’s spoofed websites and entered their login information, Potekhin and his accomplices stole their login credentials and gained access to their real accounts. The attackers then employed a variety of methods to exfiltrate their ill-gotten virtual currency: using exchange accounts created using fictitious or stolen identities; circumventing exchanges’ internal controls; swapping into different types of virtual currency; moving virtual currency through multiple intermediary addresses; and a market manipulation scheme in which inexpensive virtual currency was purchased at a fast rate to increase demand and price, then quickly sold for a higher price to glean quick profit. Karasavidi laundered the proceeds of the attacks into an account in his name. He attempted to conceal the nature and source of the funds by transferring them in a layered and sophisticated manner through multiple accounts and multiple virtual currency blockchains. Ultimately, the stolen virtual currency was traced to Karasavidi’s account, and millions of dollars in virtual currency and U.S. dollars was seized in a forfeiture action by the United States Secret Service.

Potekhin and Karasavidi’s actions underscore the evolving threat that global financial institutions face from cybercriminals, who employ a variety of sophisticated schemes to profit at their victims’ expense.

OFAC closely coordinated today’s action with the United States Secret Service’s San Francisco Field Office and with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. Treasury is committed to collaborating with law enforcement to respond to evolving threats from malicious actors who exploit virtual currencies and target legitimate virtual asset service providers and their customers.