Crypto

Puppies, cryptocurrency and offshore scammers: How one Kiwi became a money mule

Published

2 years ago

March 2, 2024

Puppies, cryptocurrency and offshore scammers: How one Kiwi became a money mule

Guy Behan-Kitto was involved in a scam that sold fake puppies online. Photo / ThinkStock

A man embroiled in a scam involving fake puppies, cryptocurrency and mystery offshore perpetrators has been pinged for money laundering – but he says he was a victim too.

Guy Behan-Kitto appeared in New Plymouth District Court earlier this week, facing a representative charge of money laundering relating to the scheme that ripped off multiple people of thousands of dollars.

The court heard the victims had responded to advertisements on Facebook and Buy and Sell listing puppies and car parts for sale. It’s likely the posts originated offshore.

Behan-Kitto, of Taranaki, aided the transactions by allowing the perpetrators to use his bank account to redistribute the money into cryptocurrency before it was moved overseas.

For his involvement, he received 10 per cent of all transactions.

Each of the fraudulent transactions occurred in December 2022 and began with a $200 payment from a victim who believed she was buying a puppy.

But after the payment was made, the victim was blocked from contacting the seller and the puppy was never delivered, nor the money reimbursed.

This was the modus operandi used in five further transactions.

They included $500 for a vehicle part, $400 for a puppy, $1000 for a puppy, $2700 for a sleepout and $460 for bullbars.

Another transaction involved a victim receiving a text message via WhatsApp from someone pretending to be their daughter.

The victim was asked to pay $4221.45 into Behan-Kitto’s bank account with the belief that their “daughter” needed the money urgently.

After the payment was made, the victim received no further communication from the sender.

In explanation for his offending, Behan-Kitto told police that his partner was contacted by an unknown person on Snapchat asking to use her account to purchase Cryptocurrency.

But he gave his bank account to the unknown person instead, the court heard.

Behan-Kitto appeared in New Plymouth District Court this week.

At his sentencing, the court heard from the victim who lost $1000.

She had suffered mentally and financially, she said in a statement read by a victim advisor.

“I was so excited about getting a puppy.”

The woman said the seller used a “cute” photo and provided a personal story about the dog coming from a family.

She was angry with herself for not realising earlier it was a hoax, noting the number listed and the seller’s “pathetic spelling” and “use of the English language”.

“I should have immediately known that this was a scam but I didn’t until I sent the money.”

She tried to have the payment cancelled but was too late.

Crown prosecutor Holly Bullock argued the full loss to each victim should be paid by Behan-Kitto, rather than only the 10 per cent he had collected from each transaction.

But defence lawyer Josie Mooney disagreed, stating while he could pay the 10 per cent immediately, he could not afford the full amount.

Behan-Kitto also felt he was somewhat of a victim, Mooney said.

“There was a clear naivety on his behalf as to what exactly was being undertaken.”

Mooney said Behan-Kitto’s employment would suffer due to the conviction and that he felt terrible about what had happened to the victims.

“He was entirely unaware of this background, but it is accepted that he should have seen the red flags and he should have asked further questions and that’s where the guilty plea has come from.”

Judge Gregory Hikaka, however, ordered the full reparation amount.

He said without Behan-Kitto’s involvement, the victims would not be victims.

“Your offending robbed them.”

In addition to the reparation, Behan-Kitto was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within the next 12 months.

Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff where she covered crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.

Related Topics:After been cryptocurrency embroiled fake for involving laundering man money mystery New offshore perpetrators pinged Plymouth puppies puppy says scam sentenced too victim

Click to comment

Crypto

Certik Unveils ‘Anti-Virus for AI Agents’ as Skill Marketplaces Face Hidden Threats

Published

11 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

Certik Unveils ‘Anti-Virus for AI Agents’ as Skill Marketplaces Face Hidden Threats

Key Takeaways

The Security Challenge

Blockchain and AI security firm Certik, on May 27, unveiled a new security platform designed to evaluate risks in third-party artificial intelligence (AI) skills. Dubbed the “anti-virus for AI agents,” the release comes amid growing industry concern over the security of AI skill marketplaces.

Security researchers have warned that many of these skills are unvetted, can execute system-level actions and may contain hidden malicious behavior, creating a new software supply chain risk for the AI era. Security audits across the sector have identified risks ranging from credential harvesting and data exfiltration to fund-transfer manipulation and prompt-based override attacks.

Despite these concerns, AI skill marketplaces have expanded rapidly as agent ecosystems mature. However, unlike traditional app stores, most skills are sourced from public repositories with little or no review. Analysts say this creates opportunities for attackers to embed harmful instructions, trigger unauthorized data access or manipulate autonomous execution flows.

In a recent blog post, Certik said its skill scanner platform is designed specifically to evaluate risks that emerge during execution, including scenarios involving financial transactions or fund calls. The scanner produces a numerical score from 0 to 100, along with “pass,” “warn” or “fail” verdicts and categorized findings. According to the company, the system achieves up to 90.5% precision in identifying security risks.

“As AI agents become more deeply integrated into financial systems, enterprise workflows and everyday digital interactions, the security model around third-party skills becomes critically important,” said Ronghui Gu, Certik’s CEO and co-founder. “CertiK Skill Scanner was built to establish a standardized trust layer before execution, helping users and platforms identify hidden risks before sensitive data, assets or systems are exposed.”

Certik said AI skill marketplaces can integrate the scanner directly into publishing pipelines, automatically reviewing skills before they go live and displaying security verdicts to users. Enterprises can deploy the tool as part of internal compliance and risk-management workflows, while independent developers can use it to self-audit skills before publishing.

The company said future updates will allow everyday users to scan skills themselves before installation. The scanner has already been deployed in select Web3 AI agent infrastructure environments. Certik is also expanding integrations with additional platforms, including Finchip.ai.

“Trust is the prerequisite for any skill economy to function at scale,” said Gary Yang, incubation investor at Finchip.ai. “CertiK’s work on skill security verification is exactly what this ecosystem needs. It’s what makes Finchip’s mission of programmable skill ownership and distribution worth building.”

The launch follows Certik’s expansion into AI-focused security infrastructure. Earlier this year, the company introduced its AI Auditor initiative to address risks tied to autonomous systems and AI-driven execution environments.

“AI applications are moving toward increasingly autonomous execution, which creates a new category of security and trust challenges,” Gu said. “We believe security infrastructure for the AI era must function proactively, not reactively.”

Crypto

FBI Seizes Over $8 Billion In Cryptocurrency As Part Of The Largest Forfeiture In US Government History

Published

23 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Press Room

FBI Seizes Over Billion In Cryptocurrency As Part Of The Largest Forfeiture In US Government History

iStockphoto composite

The FBI seized over $8 billion in cryptocurrency, freed nearly 2,000 trafficked workers, and arrested nearly 300 people in a recent international operation.

As part of the operation, authorities shut down several “scam compounds” and crime organizations, including groups known as the Prince Group in Cambodia, Operation Sand Dollar in Dubai, and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army in Myanmar.

“Scam compounds are modern-day criminal enterprises built to steal from Americans, launder money, and exploit trafficked workers,” FBI director Kash Patel wrote on X announcing the results of the operation.

Fox News reports that the U.S. The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, an armed militia named after a region in Myanmar that is allegedly connected to the Chinese mob, faces sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury. The government has classified it as a transnational criminal organization.

Images from an operation in Thailand reveal that the FBI confiscated office supplies and thousands of smartphones.

seized-devices-from-an-FBI-anti-scam-operation-in-Thailand — FBI

The FBI in Dubai will extradite six of the 275 individuals they and local police detained there to the United States to face federal charges, according to the FBI. The authorities raided nine “scam compounds” in Dubai, each allegedly generating $6 million in fraud proceeds annually.

Cryptocurrency scams in the US reached a record high in 2025

In April, an FBI report revealed that cryptocurrency scams in the U.S. reached a record high in 2025, with reported losses of almost $11.4 billion. According to the FBI, cyber-enabled crimes defrauded Americans of almost $21 billion in 2025, with the costliest complaints involving cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence (AI).

“The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Complaint Report highlights the ever-evolving tactics of internet scammers,” the FBI’s Baltimore office wrote on X. “From fake social media profiles to voice cloning and AI-generated content, cyber criminals are evolving.”

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received over one million complaints in 2025, up from 859,532 in 2024. The most common complaints were about investment schemes, extortion, and phishing/spoofing.

Crypto

US-Iran Escalation Pushes Bitcoin to $72,622 as $870M Long Bets Collapse

Published

1 day ago

May 28, 2026

Press Room

US-Iran Escalation Pushes Bitcoin to ,622 as 0M Long Bets Collapse

Key Takeaways

Geopolitical Escalation Triggers Crypto Sell-off

Bitcoin plunged below $73,000 early Thursday following reports of fresh U.S. military strikes inside Iran. Market data shows bitcoin tumbled to a multi-week low of $72,622—its lowest level since April 13—before staging a modest recovery back to $73,000. This downturn continues a weekly bearish trend, contrasting sharply with broader global markets that had previously rallied on optimism for a permanent peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

The sharp decline pushed bitcoin’s daily losses to 3.6%, dragging its market capitalization down to $1.46 trillion and pulling the aggregate crypto market cap below the $2.6 trillion threshold. Since May 25, when bitcoin last attempted to test the $78,000 resistance level, the asset has shed over 6% of its value. Despite kicking off May on an upward trajectory, this latest price action positions the cryptocurrency to close the month in the red.

Retaliatory Strikes Threaten Peace Talks

According to reports, the latest U.S. military strikes targeted a strategic site in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. In retaliation, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly launched strikes against a U.S. military base in Kuwait, where local authorities confirmed that air defense systems engaged incoming missiles and drones.

This escalation comes just days after the U.S. military struck Iranian naval vessels and an alleged missile launch site in Bandar Abbas, citing self-defense. Iranian forces responded at the time by downing U.S. drones. Notably, these hostilities unfolded while U.S. and Iranian negotiators were actively convening in Qatar to finalize a peace agreement. While the Trump administration initially downplayed the earlier friction to keep diplomatic channels open, this latest exchange will likely torpedo the talks and embolden hardliners on both sides who oppose a negotiated settlement.

Meanwhile, the decline in bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market resulted in the liquidation of more than $930 million in leveraged positions. Coinglass data showed that liquidations on bitcoin alone topped $366 million, with wiped-out long bets accounting for $348 million of that total. Overall, the market saw $870 million in long positions wiped out over 24 hours.