Scams

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has ordered the forfeiture of approximately $1 million in cash, gold, and luxury items tied to QuadrigaCX co-founder Michael Patryn. The assets—seized in 2021 under an Unexplained Wealth Order—will now be liquidated after Patryn withdrew his legal response, marking a significant step in the province’s civil action linked to the infamous crypto exchange’s collapse.

A 65-year-old retired engineer from Miyapur lost ₹1.28 crore (about $130,000) between November 4 and December 5 to a fake trading app posing as DBS and promoted via a WhatsApp investment group, according to Cyberabad cybercrime police. The fraudsters allegedly used cloned app interfaces, staged returns and social messaging channels to build trust before blocking withdrawals. Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. Authorities are urging investors to verify platforms, check regulatory approvals and report suspicious apps, links and chat groups.

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has ordered the forfeiture of more than $1 million in cash, gold bars and luxury items tied to QuadrigaCX co-founder Michael Patryn after he chose not to contest the case. Authorities say the assets, including 45 gold bars, high-end watches and a loaded pistol found in a Vancouver safety deposit box in 2021, were allegedly purchased with misappropriated customer funds from the failed crypto exchange. The ruling allows the province to liquidate the seized property and examine whether any proceeds can be distributed to QuadrigaCX creditors, who recovered only a small fraction of their balances in bankruptcy.

On 8 December 2025, US prosecutors asked a federal court in New York to impose a 12-year prison term on Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon following his guilty plea to wire fraud and conspiracy. As mounting legal action underscores risks in the crypto sector, the DeepSnitch AI token presale has raised more than $700,000 at a price of $0.02682 ahead of a planned January launch. The project is positioning itself as a security-focused alternative, with live features such as SnitchScan and staking aimed at traders seeking risk controls alongside growth potential. Backers frame the presale as part of a broader shift toward safety and transparency in digital assets.

Federal prosecutors have requested a 12-year prison sentence for Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon following his guilty plea to orchestrating the TerraUSD collapse that wiped out $40 billion in market value. Kwon admitted to defrauding investors and concealing Jump Trading's role in supporting the stablecoin. His defense team is seeking a reduced five-year term, citing nearly three years already spent in detention in Montenegro. Sentencing is scheduled for December 11.

South Korea's Financial Services Commission is reviewing regulations to impose no-fault compensation requirements on cryptocurrency exchanges following a November hack at Upbit that involved $30 million in Solana-based tokens. The proposed framework would align virtual asset providers with traditional financial institutions in terms of liability and operational standards. More than 900 users were impacted by the breach, which saw over 104 billion tokens transferred to external wallets within one hour.

South Korea is advancing regulations to hold major cryptocurrency exchanges to bank-level liability standards following a November 27 hack at Upbit that resulted in $30.1 million in losses. The Financial Services Commission is reviewing provisions that would require platforms to compensate users for security breaches and system failures regardless of fault. The proposed framework mirrors existing rules applied to traditional banks under the country's electronic financial transactions law.

Federal prosecutors have requested a 12-year prison sentence for Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, following his guilty plea to fraud charges in August. Kwon admitted to orchestrating schemes between 2018 and 2022 that deceived cryptocurrency investors and led to TerraUSD's $40 billion collapse in 2022. His defense team has proposed a reduced five-year term, and sentencing is set for December 11.

Blockaid, a crypto security firm, detected malicious code on the official Pepe website on December 4, 2025. The site harbors Inferno Drainer software that targets connected wallets to extract funds. PEPE has dropped over 75% year-to-date and trades near $0.0000040.

Cybersecurity firm Hudson Rock identified an infected device linked to suspected North Korean state-sponsored hackers in the $1.4 billion Bybit cryptocurrency theft in February 2025. The device was central to establishing infrastructure that supported the theft, with domains registered before the attack and used in phishing operations. The incident underscores sophisticated cyber threats targeting digital financial platforms and raises concerns about vulnerabilities in centralized exchanges.