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A cryptocurrency fraud workshop co-hosted by the Delta Police Department last fall identified over 1,100 victims worldwide, including a ‘significant number’ in Canada.

On Sept. 16 and 17, 2024, the DPD and blockchain analytics company Chainalysis hosted “Operation DeCloak,” bringing together representatives from law enforcement agencies including the RCMP, Victoria Police Department, Vancouver Police Department, the BC Securities Commission, the BC Prosecution Service and the BC Financial Services Authority, as well as key stakeholders from cryptocurrency exchanges such as Shakepay and others.

The initiative was a localized “sprint” of Chainalysis’ “Operation Spincaster,” a series of public-private collaborations designed to disrupt and prevent cryptocurrency scams. Spincaster itself spun out from “Operation Disruption,” a collaboration between Chainalysis and the Calgary Police Service in March 2024.

“Leveraging the transparency of the blockchain, Chainalysis proactively identified thousands of compromised wallets. This actionable intelligence formed the basis of a series of operational sprints across six countries (U.S., U.K., Canada, Spain, Netherlands and Australia) with over 100 attendees, including 12 public sector agencies and 17 crypto exchanges,” the company said in a press release.

“Over 7,000 leads were disseminated during these sprints, relating to approximately US$162 million of losses. These leads were used to close accounts, seize funds and build intelligence to prevent future scams.”

During last fall’s Operation DeCloak, Chainalysis led training sessions in investigating leads, tracing stolen funds and identifying compromised wallets using the company’s proprietary “Crypto Investigations Solution.”

According to a DPD press release, 240 crypto addresses were closely examined, revealing an estimated collective loss of C$35 million.

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The event also promoted proactive policing and disruption strategies aimed at combating fraud, with particular emphasis on a growing tactic known as “approval phishing” used by romance and investment scammers targeting cryptocurrency transactions. 

The method involves scammers gaining their victim’s trust by promoting false investment opportunities with the promise of high returns, thereby convincing victims to unknowingly approve malicious blockchain transactions.

The initial transaction gives the scammer access to tokens in the victim’s digital wallet without the victim’s knowledge, resulting in unauthorized withdrawals.

Police say scammers typically connect with their victims through social media, or via apps or pop-up ads.

During Operation DeCloak, police say immediate steps were taken to notify identified victims of these scams.

“With the co-operation of the exchange companies, affected individuals were promptly contacted with the goal of preventing further harm,” the DPD said in its press release.

Since the workshop, the department has successfully deployed the techniques learned through Operation DeCloak. 

“The technique was applied to a previous investigation which identified stolen cryptocurrency funds in a blacklisted address containing US$1.2 million. This address was in the process of being seized by an overseas police agency,” the department said.

Using the DeCloak techniques, the DPD’s Cybercrime Unit has identified an additional 70 transactions worth US$800,000 sent from Canadian exchanges. Investigators are identifying those victims and seizing the funds from the blacklisted address so they can be returned.

“This collaboration with Chainalysis and cryptocurrency exchanges is a testament to the DPD’s focus on innovation and commitment to community safety and well-being.”

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Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said Tuesday (Jan. 14) that it is investigating a problem with delayed sends of Ripple (XRP) on its platform.

“We are aware that some users may be experiencing delayed sends for Ripple (XRP),” Coinbase said in an incident report on its status page. “Buys, Sells and Fiat withdrawals/deposits are not affected. We are investigating this issue and will provide an update shortly.”

In an earlier, separate report on its status page, Coinbase said some users experienced delayed sends and receives for Stellar (XLM) on Friday (Jan. 10). That incident was resolved within 90 minutes.

On Thursday (Jan. 9), some users experienced latency or degraded performance with buys, sells, sends, Coinbase Onramp and Advanced Trade. That issue was resolved within two hours, according to the page.

In other, separate news about the company, it was reported Thursday (Jan. 9) that Coinbase told customers that it may have to share data demanded by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The regulator sent a subpoena to the firm that seeks information about Coinbase customers’ interactions with prediction market firm Polymarket, and Coinbase emailed some customers saying it may have to share that data with the CFTC.

“When we receive requests for information from a government, each request is carefully reviewed by a team of trained experts using established procedures to determine its legal sufficiency,” a Coinbase spokesperson told CoinDesk.

On Dec. 9, cryptocurrency payments solution firm Triple-A announced an integration with Coinbase that it said it designed to let Coinbase users make payments to select merchants in the Triple-A network.

“Triple-A’s integration with Coinbase Commerce will empower merchants to offer a Coinbase-specific payment option, enhancing the convenience for Coinbase users and allowing Coinbase to connect with a wider network of merchants, to drive the broader adoption of cryptocurrency payments,” the company said in a press release.

Coinbase upgraded its Coinbase One subscription program and launched a new tier called Coinbase One Premium on Dec. 4, saying that with these new offerings, “Coinbase One now truly benefits all types of traders.”

Coinbase One membership has reached 600,000 across 42 countries, the company added.