Crime is the breaking of rules or laws for which some governing authority (via mechanisms such as legal systems) can ultimately prescribe a conviction. Crimes may also result in cautions, rehabilitation or be unenforced.
All stories in Crime
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How to build a search engine for criminal data
Detectives and experts can use standard search queries and will be able to access the data 48 hours after a crime.
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Moderator of notorious dark web marketplace sentenced to 11 years
An individual associated with notorious dark web marketplace AlphaBay has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, the Department ...
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Data-informed predictive policing was heralded as less biased. Is it?
When George Floyd was killed in May after a police officer pressed a knee into the man’s neck, millions of Americans ...
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Deepfakes are the most worrying AI crime, researchers warn
Deepfake videos and audio are the most concerning use of AI for crime and terrorism, according to a new report from University ...
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Amazon creates 'Counterfeit Crimes Unit' to punish copycats
Amazon today announced it has created a Counterfeit Crimes unit to 'go on the offensive' against counterfeit products on ...
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Podcast: How banks detect money laundering
Almost nine months ago, we published episode one of the first-ever TNW podcast, Forensic Finance. This podcast, created along ...
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Algorithms associating appearance with criminality have a dark past
‘Phrenology’ has an old-fashioned ring to it. It sounds like it belongs in a history book, filed somewhere between bloodletting ...
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LAPD ditches predictive policing program accused of racial bias
The Los Angeles Police Department is dumping a controversial predictive policing program that forecasts where property crimes ...
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Jeff Lowe says 'Tiger King' Joe Exotic made sex tapes with zoo animals
Warning: Tiger King spoilers ahead. Jeff Lowe, a prominent figure in the “Tiger King” docu-series on Netflix, held ...
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Europol is chasing hackers exploiting the coronavirus pandemic
Europol wants you to rest assured it's pursuing cyberbaddies trying to exploit the coronavirus crisis to steal your data ...
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UK police are using AI to predict who could become violent criminals
Police in the UK are using AI to predict who could become violent criminals in a pilot of a system that the government plans ...
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Clearview AI's false claims of accuracy increase the dangers of its face recognition software
Clearview AI's calamitous press campaign had another mishap yesterday when the ACLU slammed its claims of being rated "100% ...
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Cryptocurrency hackers stole less money in 2019, despite higher activity
Cryptocurrency criminals ramped up their activity last year, carrying out more hacks but stealing less money, says a new ...
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The benefits of facial recognition AI are being wildly overstated
Facial recognition technology has run amok across the globe. In the US it continues to perpetuate at an alarming rate despite ...
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Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken sees 49% yearly increase in law enforcement information requests
It should come as no surprise that law enforcers are working to track down cryptocurrency criminals. Kraken says information ...
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Here’s how law enforcement catches cryptocurrency criminals
Here's a behind the scenes look at how law enforcement leverages technology to catch cryptocurrency criminals using the likes ...
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Teen SIM-swapper allegedly stole $1M, bought custom jewelry with Bitcoin
A 19-year-old SIM-swapper has been charged for allegedly stealing more than $1 million in cryptocurrency.
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[Best of 2019] Why the criminal justice system should abandon algorithms
It's time that US courts stopped relying on biased algorithms to excuse the inherent bias embedded within the criminal justice ...
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Bitcoin ransomware hacker must pay $356K or spend 2 more years in prison
A jailed hacker responsible for distributing highly effective Bitcoin-demanding ransomware campaigns has been ordered to ...
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FBI and US Marshals warn of heinous scammers demanding payments via Bitcoin ATMs
The United States Marshals and Federal Bureau of Investigation don't want you to forget about Bitcoin scammers pretending ...
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Victims lose $4.4B to cryptocurrency crime in first 9 months of 2019
It's been a bumper year so far for cryptocurrency criminals who have stolen over $4 billion worth of digital coins over the ...
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Psychologist explains what makes people psychopathic
Millions recently flocked to the cinema to watch Joker, the origin story of Batman’s notorious nemesis. Many have commented ...
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OneCoin lawyer found guilty in $4B cryptocurrency scam
The US lawyer who made $50 million after routing $400 million on behalf of the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam has been found ...
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Analysis of $400M in illicit XRP activity shows it's mostly theft and Ponzi schemes
Cryptocurrency analysts say illicit actors aren't really touching Ripple (XRP) because it's not as liquid as Bitcoin and ...
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SIM swappers arrested after allegedly trying to steal over $550K in cryptocurrency
Authorities have arrested two men and charged them with plotting to steal half a million dollars worth of cryptocurrency ...
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Cryptocurrency is keeping FBI on its toes as director recognizes increasing threat
The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said cryptocurrencies are a "significant problem that will ...
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Cops to dream up ways of ending Bitcoin crime at major Australian conference
More than 200 legal professionals are gathering in Australia this week to put their heads together and find ways of ending ...
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Deepdotweb admin says $15.5M Bitcoin 'kickback' scheme didn't exist
One of the arrested admins of dark web portal Deepdotweb has claimed that any money earned via the website came from legitimate ...
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India is going ahead with its facial recognition program despite privacy concerns
The Indian government has played down fears of mass surveillance in response to concerns that the proposed facial recognition ...
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5 arrested after drilling through warehouse wall to steal 85 Bitcoin machines
Police in Malaysia have apprehended a gang that allegedly stole 85 Bitcoin “machines” from a warehouse last weekend by ...
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New technology will make your web browser more private - but it might help criminals avoid justice
A new technology promises to make your web browser more private than ever, keeping your internet activity from prying eyes. ...
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Hackers are now selling 'Raccoon' data-stealing malware as a $200 monthly service
A new kind of trojan malware is fast gaining currency among cybercriminals for its capability to steal sensitive information, ...
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Hackers give Johannesburg government 3 days to pay over $30K in Bitcoin
A group of cybercriminals calling themselves the “Shadow Kill Hackers” has reportedly attacked the City of Johannesburg ...
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Hundreds charged after takedown of child exploitation site which made $730K in Bitcoin
US prosecutors say the online marketplace was operated by Jong Woo Son, who is currently serving an 18-month jail sentence ...
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Europol: Bitcoin is the still the dark web’s favorite cryptocurrency
Europol notes that Bitcoin's prevalence in underground economies is a consequence of its familiarity within the customer ...
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How a blockchain-based digital ID system could help tackle human trafficking
What if emerging technologies such as blockchain could make it harder for criminals to traffic victims and make it easier ...
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China's new 500-megapixel 'super camera' can instantly recognize you in a crowd
Chinese researchers develop a new 500 megapixel facial recognition camera capable of capturing "thousands of faces at a stadium ...
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Bitcoin fraudsters impersonate Canadian police to steal over $18,000
Police in Canada have issued warnings about a Bitcoin scam after two citizens reportedly lost $18,764.50 (CAD $25,000) to ...
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Bitcoin scammers impersonate Buckingham palace in attempted Brexit ruse
Just when you thought Bitcoin scammers couldn’t stoop any lower, they’ve now taken to impersonating Buckingham Palace. ...
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German police raid criminal Bitcoin ring hiding in ex-NATO military bunker
Police in Germany have executed a hi-tech raid on a data processing centre installed in an ex-Nato bunker which hosted a ...
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UK police just sold criminally-seized Bitcoin for above market rates
UK police actually sold their criminally-seized Bitcoin for above market rates, despite the auctions having no minimum bids. ...
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Binance says it buddied with UK police to catch crypto criminal who stole $51M
Binance has said it collaborated with UK police to uncover a criminal who earned more than $51 million (£41.6 million) by ...
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US detains Bitcoin fraudster to prevent him from escaping to Canada
A Canadian man alleged to have conned an Oregonian woman out of $230,000 worth of Bitcoin is being held in prison so that ...
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Mired in crime controversy, Uber reveals new safety features
Uber revealed a number of new safety features for its app, including 911 texts, rider PIN numbers, and on-trip reporting. ...
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Adult content marketplace Fantasy Market charged with running fraudulent ICO
The founder of Fantasy Market, a purported online adult entertainment marketplace, has been charged with running a fraudulent ...
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UK police to auction $662,000 worth of seized Bitcoin — with no minimum bids
The cryptocurrency was seized from a cyberbaddy who had been selling personal data and hacking services for Bitcoin and other ...
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Man charged with running Bitcoin–powered fake ID cartel gets a year in US prison
A man charged with creating fake IDs in a major Bitcoin-powered distribution ring has been sentenced to one year and one ...
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Scammers are now selling stolen cash for Bitcoin on the dark web
Just when you probably thought you'd seen it all, scammers are now selling discounted hacked cash in exchange for Bitcoin ...
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Fraudsters deepfake CEO's voice to trick manager into transferring $243,000
Criminals use commercially available voice-generating AI software to impersonate the boss of a German company to steal funds. ...
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California man laundered $25M through his own DIY Bitcoin ATM and exchange
A man from the small town of Westwood in California has pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed Bitcoin exchange and ATM, ...
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Hacker who sold Uber’s and Sainsbury’s customer data forced to give up $1M in cryptocurrency
A hacker has been ordered to pay back over $1.1 million (£900,000) in cryptocurrency after carrying out attacks on several ...
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US government knows you’re buying opioids with Bitcoin — and it doesn’t like it
The US government has released a series of advisory notes, one of which specifically looks at the role played by cryptocurrencies ...
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Cryptocurrency scammers have netted $4.26B so far this year, report
Cryptocurrency scammers continued to swindle funds throughout Q2 2019, netting approximately $4.26 billion so far this year. ...
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5 charged in connection with $2.7M Australian cryptocurrency scam
Australian police have charged five people in connection with a protracted cold call cryptocurrency investment scam that ...
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Criminologist: Trump acts like a criminal when denying climate change
While much of the world now recognizes the need for immediate action, there are still those who question the scientific consensus ...
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Silk Road site admin extradited to US hit with 78-month prison sentence
Irish man Gary Davis, also known as “Libertas,” has been sentenced to 78 months in prison for helping to run the now ...
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Bagel-loving 84-year-old lady foils sextortionists' $1,400 Bitcoin con
An 84-year-old woman in the US has been targeted by Bitcoin sextortionists after she signed up to Panera, a well-known restaurant ...
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Unsuspecting victims were cryptojacked 52.7 million times in the first half of 2019
Criminals made a staggering 52.7 million cryptojacking hits during the first six months of the year. According to the ...
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Moonday Morning: South Korea lost $2.3 billion to cryptocurrency crimes over last 2 years
Welcome to Monday, and welcome to another Moonday Mornings. Hard Fork's wrap-up of the weekend's top cryptocurrency and blockchain ...
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Australian retirees lose their $900,000 pension fund in cryptocurrency scam
A retired couple in Australia have reportedly lost $900,000 to an elaborate cryptocurrency scam.
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Israeli hacker allegedly stole $1.7M in cryptocurrency from Europeans
A cybercriminal from Israel is facing a list of felonies associated with the supposed theft of $1.7 million (6.1 million ...
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Fears of AI-powered hacking are misplaced as criminals are doing fine without it
AI is captivating tech news audiences. But, growing expectations for AI’s impact on legitimate business have spawned a ...
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Predictive policing AI is a bigger scam than psychic detectives
Law enforcement agencies around the world have recently begun extricating themselves from expensive, ineffective predictive ...
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India addresses cryptocurrency scam wave with new police training course
High-ranking police officers in India will receive cryptocurrency training to help with investigations involving digital ...
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A public DNA database led to a murder conviction, but innocent people may pay the price
To date, public DNA databases have been used to identify more than 40 rape and murder suspects, some from cases dating back ...
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Dutch ministers push for cryptocurrency regulation to fight money laundering
Dutch ministers want to regulate cryptocurrencies as part of a wider effort to tackle money laundering in the country.
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Dublin crime ring recruited 14-year-olds to hide drugs bought with Bitcoin
Police were tipped off after a large amount of ecstacy was found sitting at a postal hub, reportedly paid for with cryptocurrency ...
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Bitcoin ransomers claim second victory as Florida town pays $500,000
A second town in Florida has paid over $500,000 in Bitcoin to hackers following a ransomware attack.
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Europol is developing a ‘game’ to teach officers how to trace cryptocurrency
Europol has revealed its developing a game to help law enforcers learn how to trace and investigate illicit uses of cryptocurrency. ...
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Spanish police arrest Bitcoin launderers in international credit card fraud case
Spanish police have arrested 35 people allegedly involved in an international counterfeit bank card ring which laundered ...
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Vancouver mayor suggests Bitcoin ATM ban to stop money laundering
Vancouver's mayor recently suggested the city should ban cryptocurrency ATMs as local police say they're ideal money laundering ...
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Dark web user gets 42 months in prison for buying child abuse imagery with Bitcoin
A man in the US has been sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for purchasing, downloading, and concealing child abuse ...
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This tablet on a stick isn't RoboCop, but it's a smart solution to risky traffic stops
Remember RoboCop? In the late 1980s, in a dystopian future version of Detroit — that looks a lot like the current version ...
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Police seize over $600K in cash, Bitcoin, and Monero in worldwide dark web drug bust
Police have busted two enormous dark web drug markets - the Wall Street Market and Silkkietie - which ran on Bitcoin and ...
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Jersey man puts $1.5M life savings in Bitcoin scam, loses everything
A resident of the self-governing British island, Jersey, was duped for 18-months and has lost their life-savings of $1.5 ...
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NYPD: Bitcoin thieves posing as government officials have stolen over $2M
New York’s Police Department (NYPD) is alerting the public about phone scammers posing as Social Security Administration ...
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What's behind the curious serenading of cybercriminals in Nigerian hip-hop?
Singers use artistic conventions to construct marketable music personas. However, that’s not the full picture. In the ...
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Amazon wants to deliver crime news and fear to Ring doorbell owners
Amazon is in the process of a curious hire - a Managing Editor, News - to help bring "breaking crime news alerts" to owners ...
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Drug dealers who relied on Bitcoin's 'anonymity' get 30 years behind bars
Members of a Bitcoin-fueled drug ring that used the dark web to import crystal meth into the UK have been sentenced to more ...
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Our smartphone addiction isn’t just bad for our mental health, it’s a security risk
We’ve all had the “smartphone conversation.” The one about our unhealthy obsession and inability to put phones down. ...
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The feds still haven't found the Nigerian scammers that stole $50K in Bitcoin
Two Nigerian nationals face charges of attempting to defraud US residents through numerous Bitcoin investment scams. The ...
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Police bust potential Bitcoin money laundering scheme in Brazil
Brazilian police have arrested a man on suspicion that he was running a drug trafficking ring and laundering funds using ...
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Ethereum bandit makes off with $6.1M after bypassing weak private keys
There’s a blockchain bandit on the loose – and they’ve already thieved over $6.1 million worth of Ethereum.
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Men plead guilty in first NY conviction for money laundering involving Bitcoin
Two US men have pleaded guilty to running a steroid and controlled substance business that laundered millions of dollars ...
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PSA: Don't give in to police officer asking for your Bitcoin, it's a scam
Has a cop recently asked you to hand over your cryptocurrency?
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Corrupt Russian agents arrested over $1M Bitcoin extortion scheme
Two Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents involved in a $1 million Bitcoin extortion scam were arrested last week ...
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Prolific sim-swapper gets 10 years for stealing $7.5M worth of Bitcoin
A 21-year-old man in the US, who is credited with being one of the first people in the country to be convicted of stealing ...
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Dark web druglords charged with laundering $2.3M in Bitcoin
US authorities have arrested three men after taking down a dark web drug ring which laundered $2.3 million in cryptocurrency. ...
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Romanian duo convicted in US for using cryptocurrency malware-mining to steal millions
Two Romanian residents have been convicted of infecting over 400,000 individual computers with malware in order to mine ...
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Bitcoin phisher steals $365,000 and 10,000 passwords from dark web users
A 37 year-old man in the US has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for fraud in connection with a Bitcoin ...
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Lambo, Land Rovers taken during $22M ICO fraud investigation
Vanbex, the firm behind the FUEL cryptocurrency and the Etherparty "smart contract platform," has been hit with a major fraud ...
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Mt. Gox’ Mark Karpeles to appeal data manipulation conviction
Mt. Gox's former chief has confirmed his intent to appeal his charges of manipulating the financial records of the now-defunct ...
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Japan court lets Monero cryptojacker walk away free
A Japanese web designer is walking free after appearing in court for using his visitor's computers to mine cryptocurrency ...
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Cryptocurrency scammer pleads guilty in $4M fraud case
AriseBank CEO Jared Rice, who faced 120 years in prison for defrauding investors of $4 million in a cryptocurrency scam, ...
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Cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia resumes trading months after debilitating hack
Cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia has resumed trading following a debilitating hack in mid-January.
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Fighting crypto fraud will soon become easier, here’s why
Anyone who’s spent any time in cryptocurrency communities knows fraud is a widespread issue. We’ve seen ‘pump and ...
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Mt. Gox’s Mark Karpelès could avoid prison, despite faking financial records
The head of defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox has been found guilty of financial record tampering, but with a suspended ...
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Bulgarian cryptocurrency scam lures UK investors with fake FCA accreditation
The UK FCA is warning consumers to be extra vigilant as cryptocurrency scammers are falsely claiming to have FCA accreditation. ...
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South Korea launches task force to fight 800% increase in cryptocurrency crimes
South Korea is preparing to come down hard on cyber-criminals with the launch of a new "task force" aimed at fighting cryptocurrency ...
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Hackers who stole $150,000 from buggy Bitcoin ATMs still at large
Yesterday, Toronto police issued a statement requesting public help to locate four men suspected of carrying out a string ...
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Here are the 11 female-led podcasts you should be listening to
According to a report by PwC, podcasts made well over $600 million in 2018 — and the golden age is yet to come. PwC further ...
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Blackmailers made $332,000 in Bitcoin during ‘sextortion’ scam
Cybercriminals raked in more than $300,000 in Bitcoin payments during a 'sextortion' email-based blackmail campaign, according ...
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Predictive policing is a scam that perpetuates systemic bias
Predictive policing exacerbates inherent systemic bias, covers up unlawful policing, and perpetuates misinformation. It's ...
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UK upskirting ban proves sexual assault laws are only just catching up with tech
Until yesterday, upskirting was almost completely legal. The practice involves taking sexually intrusive photos up people’s ...
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12 Bitcoin scammers extradited to US for selling fake cars on eBay
An international cryptocurrency fraud cartel has been busted by a joint investigation between US and foreign authorities. ...
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BitcoinSV ‘feature’ exploited to store child abuse imagery on the blockchain
A change to the Bitcoin Satoshi's Vision (BSV) protocol has led to child exploitation material being posted to its blockchain, ...
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The FBI says its photo analysis is scientific evidence. Scientists disagree.
At the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, a team of about a half-dozen technicians analyzes pictures down to their pixels, ...
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Bitcoin theft victim sues AT&T for $224M after SIM-swap bungle
The victim of a debilitating cryptocurrency hack is now suing AT&T for $224M, citing gross negligence that led to having ...
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Bitcoin ransomers arrested for kidnapping in South Africa
Police in Mpumalanga, South Africa, have arrested two suspects who demanded a Bitcoin ransom following the kidnapping of ...
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Long-serving cryptocurrency exchange forced offline, hackers blamed
One of the internet’s longest serving cryptocurrency exchanges, Cryptopia, claims to have suffered a debilitating hack, ...
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$950K Bitcoin ransom paid but US businessman still missing
An American businesses man is still missing even though his family have paid kidnappers a ransom of nearly $950,000 in Bitcoin. ...
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Kidnappers in Norway demand $10M Monero ransom for millionaire's wife
Police fear the wife of one of Norway's richest men is being held ransom for $10M, payable only in the anonymity-focused ...
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In Instagram's darkest corner, all it takes is a hashtag to uncover images of child sexual abuse
For pedophiles, a single hashtag opened the door to one of Instagram’s seediest corners, one where images of sexually exploited ...
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Moonday Morning: Fortnite accidentally started accepting Monero
It's the first Moonday Morning of 2019 and that means that there's a lot of cryptocurrency and blockchain news to catch up ...
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It’s been 14 years since the first Dutch police drone — why are they still barely used?
Why Dutch police created two drones in the early 2000s, and what drone policing will be like in the future.
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US government building tools to deanonymize anonymous cryptocurrencies
If you thought you were safe using privacy coins like Zcash and Monero, think again, the US government is developing forensic ...
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Police can remotely drive your stolen Tesla into custody
We wanted to know if we can make them stop or drive them to certain locations,” Schönfeld tells me. “And the result ...
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This AI-powered scanner will sniff out your drugs in the mail
The AI can already detect weapons and explosives, and will soon learn to identify synthetic drugs.
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This is how Dutch police know you're buying drugs online
Suspicious cryptocurrency transactions can be detected through forensic analysis software and the police is using that ...
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Don’t post your kid online
As we set out on a two-hour drive, my pregnant girlfriend told me she didn’t want anyone, including ourselves, to share ...
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Elephant tusk DNA may hold the key to stiffer penalties for poachers
A study published Wednesday in Science Advances detailed a creative approach to stopping the illegal ivory trade. While ...
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Thieves use $2.3M in counterfeit money to shake down cryptocurrency millionaire
South Korean businessman has exchanged $2.3M worth of cryptocurrency for cash - only to find the banknotes were cheap fakes ...
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Tesla whistleblower alleges drug trafficking, illegal surveillance at Nevada Gigafactory
A former Tesla employee today filed a formal complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging the automaker ...
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And then there was Twitter
Having been banned by Apple, Spotify, Facebook, and YouTube -- and having a significant amount of his content removed on ...
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Environmental crime is a huge invisible problem — IoT will expose it
It’s a problem so big, that the police force of one of the world’s smallest countries is planning on reaching out to ...
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Alex Jones' reckoning is upon us
Jones' legal team must convince a judge he's a performance artist who doesn't deal in facts while acting as the sole provider ...
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Secret TSA program spies on unsuspecting passengers
An investigation revealed over the weekend that the American Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is secretly monitoring ...
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Sorry thieves, you can no longer hack iris-scanners using corpse eyes
Researchers in Poland have created a machine learning algorithim that can tell the difference between dead and alive irises. ...
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The first hours after a crime are crucial — here's how you can help the police
But letting citizens do police work — encouraging them even, by offering rewards — is not without risks.
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Watch: Apple Store heist nets thieves over $27k in MacBooks and iPhones
A group of four seemingly unarmed bandits made off with more than $27,000 worth of Apple merchandise in just seconds. After ...
