tl;dr
Austrian police have uncovered a $1.3 million 'crypto' fraud, with scammers using fake cash to defraud investors of digital assets. The scheme, known as "Rip Deal 2.0," involved purchasing digital assets with counterfeit cash. Additionally, scammers are targeting Ledger users with spoofed emails, co...
Austrian Police Bust $1.3M 'Crypto' Fraud; Phishing Scam Targets Ledger
Austrian police have uncovered a $1.3 million 'crypto' fraud, with scammers using fake cash to defraud investors of digital assets. The scheme, known as "Rip Deal 2.0," involved purchasing digital assets with counterfeit cash. Additionally, scammers are targeting Ledger users with spoofed emails, coercing them to surrender their recovery phrases, resulting in wallet theft. Chief Inspector Gerald Goldnagl revealed that Vienna police have investigated over 100 digital currency cases since 2020, with losses amounting to $26.3 million. Meanwhile, Ledger has warned users against phishing campaigns and emphasized that it never asks for recovery phrases.
Austrian police have busted a crime ring alleged to have defrauded over $1.2 million worth of digital assets and other valuables using fake cash, giving a long-running scam a ‘crypto’ twist. Elsewhere, scammers are targeting Ledger users with a spoofed email and coercing them to surrender their recovery phrases.
Rip-Deal 2.0 in Austria
Police in the capital, Vienna, have uncovered a criminal network they allege is behind a scam that defrauded over €1.2 million ($1.26 million) from investors, mostly in digital assets. A majority of the victims were Austrian. The scammers introduced a digital currency twist to a classic scam known in Austria as “Rip Deal.” Traditionally, the scheme involved using counterfeit cash to purchase high-value items, such as gold watches, and reselling them for real cash. However, in “Rip Deal 2.0,” the scammers bought digital assets with fake cash.
Austrian police have been pursuing the scammer for well over three years. One detective spearheading his manhunt has been working with dozens of victims, all of whom were scammed by the Dutch suspect and his cronies.
Rip-Deal 2.0 is one of several digital currency cases the Vienna police have investigated in the past few years. Chief Inspector Gerald Goldnagl, who heads the city’s Rip-Deal unit, revealed that since 2020, they have solved over 100 such cases, with losses amounting to $26.3 million. Globally, digital asset scammers continue to wreak havoc on millions of victims. According to the Chainalysis mid-year report, stolen funds and ransomware are the two most rampant avenues for criminals.
Scammers Target Ledger Users with Spoof Emails
Still on scammers, a group of fraudsters is once again targeting Ledger users in a phishing campaign. Users of the hardware digital asset wallet took to social media to reveal that they had been receiving emails from a legitimate-looking address claiming to be Ledger support staff. The emails all claimed that there had been a recent data breach in which some seed phrases may have been exposed.
In response, Ledger noted that its systems have been designed to keep users’ assets safe even in the case of an external incident. The French firm further reminded users that it never calls, texts or emails them to ask for their recovery phrase. “If someone does, it’s a scam,” it added.