Subscribe
October 1, 2026
Sign In

Capitalizations Index – B ∞/21M

Menu
Breaking
The Critical Role of Seed Phrases in Bitcoin Wallet Security The Indispensable Role of Seed Phrases in Bitcoin Wallet Security “Bitcoin SV: Exploring the Fork That Claims Satoshi’s Vision” Why Bitcoin Earns the Title of ‘Digital Gold’ Understanding Bitcoin’s Hash Rate: The Backbone of Network Security and Power

Monex Alerts Users About Impersonator Scam

Monex Alerts Users About Impersonator Scam

CoinCheck parent company Monex has issued a press release, January 29, 2018, warning users about an ongoing impersonator scam that targets newer users of their platform.

Stark Warning

Back in April 2018, CoinCheck, a Cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a hack that led to the loss of over $530 million. The hack occurred when the perpetrators were able to get the keys for the exchange’s hot wallet and stole hundreds of millions of dollars worth of NEM tokens.

Since then, the exchange has been bought by the Monex Group for $33.5 million and is working on repaying victims of the hack. As part of its acquisition by Monex, CoinCheck was able to secure an exchange license in Japan and has since resumed activities.

However, they now face a new challenge as some of their customers are being targeted by a group of impersonators forcing Monex to released an official statement to warn them.

Details About the Scam

In Monex’s official statement, they went into some detail about the ongoing scam. According to them, the Scam targets newer customers and involves the customer receiving a call from someone claiming to be “Monex Coin Management.”

The customer is also directed to place a call to an automated trading system that is supposedly linked to Monex, the firm has, however, openly stated that they are not connected to any such trading system.

Monex wrote:

“The Monex Group and (subsidiaries) do not have any relation with the above company,”

The purpose of this scam is to gain access to users’ hot wallets and steal their funds. Unfortunately, the use of impersonation of an individual or firm in order to target crypto users isn’t uncommon. On social media sites such as Twitter, a number of scammers impersonate public figures such as Elon Musk in order to gain the trust of users and scam them.

This is reminiscent of the IRS scam calls that have been taken place for years and whilst most of the general public has been sensitized to these forms of scams, the crypto industry is relatively new and some users, particularly the newer ones, are not as aware.

It has been barely a year since the unfortunate hack and CoinCheck is clearly trying to avoid any more situations of customer funds going missing.

Monex alerts users about impersonator scam

Like BTCMANAGER? Send us a tip!
Our bitcoin Address: 3AbQrAyRsdM5NX5BQh8qWYePEpGjCYLCy4

Published at Tue, 29 Jan 2019 21:00:58 +0000

Previous Article

Monex Alerts Users About Impersonator Scam

 Next Article

Report: Two Hacker Groups Stole $1 Billion From Crypto Exchanges

You might be interested in …

Bitcoin Bites Back: Wells Fargo in Court After Halting Exchange Transfers

The parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, iFinex, is suing Wells Fargo over disruption to wire transfers.

Bitfinex: Court Move To ‘Prevent Precedence’

Court documents filed by the company, along with fellow conversion service Tether.to in San Francisco, relate to the global bank allegedly blocking outgoing wire transfers to the banks servicing them.

“Wells Fargo has suspended U.S. dollar wire transfer operations needed to remit to plaintiffs’ customers U.S. dollars that the customers deposited with plaintiffs to purchase digital currency,” the complaint reads.

Bitcoinist compliance

It adds that the bank’s actions were “causing imminent and irreparable harm to plaintiffs.”

In additional comments on Reddit, Bitfinex spokesman commented that the lawsuit was to “prevent precedence” and that if nothing was done, the phenomenon could repeat itself with other cryptocurrency businesses.

He said:

“We’re not going to rollover for action like this. It’s precisely why we have increased our legal department.

“The decision to initiate legal action is because we cannot allow precedence in this industry where clearing houses can disrupt businesses that are by all metrics complying with the rules in place.

“If we allow them to simply flip a switch and disrupt business, then there becomes a precedence in the bitcoin industry beyond just Bitfinex, so we believe it is the appropriate time to take action to prevent precedence.”

Fickle Banks Meet Their Match At Last

The decision to disrupt liquidity flow for the two services could well represent the most severe instance of a bank declining service to cryptocurrency businesses.

Previous instances include Venezuelan exchange Surbitcoin’s temporary shutdown due to a banking refusal, while flagship New Zealand exchange bitNZ disappeared for good after operating for six years due to its bank’s sudden decision to cut ties.

Not just exchanges, but entities from across cryptocurrency have felt the effects of banks’ changing whims. UK news resource Coinjournal had its bank account frozen by Barclays in September last year, allegedly over connections with bitcoin.

Regulations Bite Poloniex in Washington State

Meanwhile further up the West Coast, Washington State is to lose services from another bitcoin exchange, this time Poloniex.

In a circular to customers, “careful consideration of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions’ interpretation of its financial services regulations” had resulted in the suspension of service for residents “until further notice.”

Ethereum Classic

Customers affected have two weeks from April 6 to remove funds from their accounts. Before the deadline, they are also prohibited from “opening new margin positions, adding to existing ones, and lending funds.”

Bitfinex itself exited Washington State for the same reasons back at the beginning of March. Unlike Poloniex, however, the exchange hinted there would be no return, and its users had markedly less time to react.

What do you think about the Wells Fargo case? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, poloniex.com

The post Bitcoin Bites Back: Wells Fargo in Court After Halting Exchange Transfers appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.

Close Menu