Showing posts with label bitconnect. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bitconnect. Show all posts

Ross Davis is The Special Guest on This Week's Edition of the CRYPTONIZED Podcast - Taking Us Inside Crypto's Biggest SCAMS!


Global Crypto Press Association Editor In Chief and investigative journalist Ross Davis is the guest on this episode of the Cryptonized Podcast!

With Host Mark Fidelman, Ross discusses some of the scams he's helped expose, confront, and take down.  Plus, some big ones on the horizon we should all be concerned with... 

Play the YouTube verion above or access the show on any of these:

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Missing Millions, Missing Wives...and Murder?! The Untold Story of the "Bitconnect" Crypto Scam...

Bitconnect update
John Biggaton was the public face of Bitconnect in Australia. 

But, like everyone who gave their name and showed their face publicly, he was only pretending to be a major player in the company.  In reality, John was just another participant recruiting new members to sign up underneath him, just another person holding a spot on the pyramid.

Who were the real people behind Bitconnect? We still don't know. Not their names, or even what country they operated out of.

 The real leaders made off with nearly $1 billion in Bitcoin - leaving the gullible people they convinced to organize events, like John, to take the fall. 

When it all collapsed, chaos followed.

When it comes to John Biggaton, money isn't the only thing missing. Shortly after Bitconnect's collapse, his wife disappeared as well.

Watch the video above for the full story!

For those interested in the topic of crypto scams, we suggest reading our report on one even bigger than Bitconnect in the Asian market that recently was busted called PlusToken, as well as one that's still growing and headed towards disaster called CloudToken.

Updated 12/17/19

Video Courtesy Of Seven Network Australia




The next big SCAM? New site giving daily payouts 4X higher than Bitconnect, and growing fast - here we go again...

This has been a hard one to get a grasp on, mainly because I first became aware of it through someone i've known for years, who is indeed receiving daily payouts - but I can't help but go back to the rule 'if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is' - this is no exception.  The claims are impossible to be true.

The company is called Doubly and where things get a bit blurry are how they've blended elements you may recognize from previous crypto scams, with practices typically associated with legitimate businesses.

It's that classic 'trading bot' scheme, the claim that they've developed artificial intelligence in the form of a bot that takes your investment, and it invests it better than you ever could, for quick huge returns.

SEO metric analysis shows people seem to be willing to take the risk, but just because everyone is getting paid currently is not evidence they are legitimate! Bitconnect came crashing down in a single day. Before that, they had thousands of members who would all tell you 'they've always paid me, with no problems'.

Just like Bitconnect we are looking at an unsustainable business model in the long term.  The profits they're guaranteeing are literally impossible for anything but a ponzi scheme.  They've posted this profit calculator on their website, take a look these numbers:


Showing an investment just shy of $12,000 will pay $657 per day, for 57 days until someone has been paid $36,000 - that's a $24,000 profit in less than 2 months.

It's easy to spot the things they're doing which are intended to make the case that they're different from all the other 'trading bot' scams of the past.

They show the name of the supposed founder - past scams always had anonymous owners.

They're registered as a company in the UK (but so was Bitconnect).

They show outgoing payments on their website, so they're paying .

...but remember NONE of these things are proof they have created a trading bot capable of 400% returns.

One of the other journalists here at the Global Crypto Press Association, Ross Davis, has covered some of the companies that have been using AI trading on Wall Street for years, because for the last year or so they have been trying to apply their technology to the cryptocurreny markets. When asked him about this he says:

"Even the Wall Street firms say the crypto markets are harder to predict than stocks, there so much less historical data.  They also mentioned that the best AI is hitting about 60% accuracy over a year long period - so if anyone's offering 400% returns in a couple months, it just isn't real." 

I knew 3 friends who participated in Bitconnect knowing what it was, with the idea of making a profit while it was still running.  One of those people is the person who showed me this, he calls it the "playing with fire investment strategy" where he invests $12k, gets $36 back, then invests $12k of that again "if I make it through that first round, I never lose and the worst I can do at that point is a $22,000 profit".

The problem is, he's the only 1 of my 3 friends who escaped Bitconnect with a profit, these companies rely on human nature.  "Why just invest $12k back when you could invest more, and get more?" people think.

After paying out for a few months, people feel comfortable leaving more and more in their hands.

Until the big day - when they decide to disappear.

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Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk


No, the New Zealand mass shooter was NOT involved in cryptocurrency - but he was part of a crypto-themed Ponzi scheme...

First, let me explain my intentions here - I hate when media coverage focuses on irrelevant background information of these mentally deranged mass shooters. Digging into their lives like what they did made them so interesting that suddenly their life story is newsworthy.

It's about as unproductive as approaching a crazy person on the street corner yelling at the sky and asking 'why are you doing that?' - you're never going to uncover a valid reason, one does not exist. If you need further proof, see every time you've done this in the past and note how still today we don't have any answers.

I'm writing this because the media is getting it wrong. One of the roles of The Global Crypto Press Association is to serve as a link between the mainstream media, the cryptocurrency industry, and community as a whole. My professional background includes on air and producer positions at two of the largest broadcasting companies in America, a similar background to several other reporters on our staff.

We do understand the challenges faced by journalists covering a variety of topics with a new focus every few days. It is both unrealistic to expect a journalist to know everything instantly, and unacceptable to let the current mistakes continue without addressing them.

The shooter's manifesto only says:

"...making some money investing in Bitconnect, then used the money from the investment to travel". 

But the media is saying:

"He quit his job, invested in cryptocurrency and began traveling the world using his inheritance and money from bitcoin investments" says Fox News.

"He worked for a short time before making some money from Bitconnect, a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, then used the money to fund his travels." says ABC.

"He financed his trips with money he made from Bitconnet and cryptocurrency like bitcoin" says NY Post.

"He funded his travels by making money from BitConnect, a cryptocurrency similar to bitcoin. Organized white supremacists, some of whom are banned from using PayPal and other major digital pay systems, often trade advice online about using cryptocurrencies that promise complete anonymity in transactions. Some of the extremists avoid using banks because they believe florid conspiracy theories in which Jews control international banking." The Washington Post says in a full-on disgusting attempt at implying cryptocurrency is the payment method of choice for all the worst people. 

Ironically, the reality is almost the complete opposite - one of the most debated and controversial topics in cryptocurrency revolves around exchanges banning the same people PayPal has, not just racists, but organizations like Wikileaks as well.

Let's correct the record.

He was not involved in cryptocurrency, or anything similar to Bitcoin:

What he was involved in was a scam called Bitconnect that used the word 'cryptocurrency'. 99% of people who say they are 'into cryptocurrency' are in a completely separate world where someone promoting or sharing a link to Bitconnect would earn them an instant ban from the forum or chat room they were in.

Bitconnect was immediately mocked by the legitimate side of the cryptocurrency world since it's inception.

The only place 'cryptocurrency' comes into the picture isn't even real:

Bitconnect claimed the profits came from a trading bot they created. Using artificial intelligence this software would take the money invested and make profitable trades on the cryptocurrency markets, earning income even when things were in a slump.

This never existed.

I'm sitting here thinking 'this explanation is too short' - but it really is this simple.

There is a story here, and the media is missing it:

Implying the shooter was involved in cryptocurrency isn't just incorrect - they're missing some real insight into his mind. You have to be unintelligent, gullible, and desperate to hand your money over to a website that was promising the things Bitconnect was.

The offer he thought was legitimate: daily 1% compound interest that would turn a $10,000 investment into $500 million within 3 years. "Risk free" too, a statement the Securities Commission cited as one of the reasons they issued a cease and desist.

Bitconnect would only end up lasting months, some estimate they held up to $900 million when they disappeared.

To this day the true masterminds behind Bitconnect are still at large. There have been some arrests, but those were misunderstood by the media too. The biggest arrest was someone who just signed up a lot of people under him in the ponzi scheme, not one of Bitconnect's creators.  I covered that when it happened here if anyone is curious.

Bitconnect and I go way back, let me tell you about their members:

I am the only journalist to have confronted Bitconnect in person.

In a video that received nearly 500,000 views, I attempted to confront a representative of Bitconnect at a cryptocurrency conference with the math mentioned above, asking to explain how they plan to pay thousands of people millions of dollars each. Of course, the Bitconnect rep had no answer other than to say my math was wrong, they have ways to 'make it work' and I wasn't owed any further details.

The death threats and angry comments rolled in, and it was clear - I was speaking with some of the stupidest people I have ever encountered, and none of them were from the cryptocurrency world.

No one who had given Bitconnect their money could explain how the investment worked, but they sure did stand by it... whatever it did.

Bitconnect supporters eventually filed enough false reports to get the video removed, but a report from that day can be here.

...Just a couple months later it was all over, and Bitconnect stole everyone's money and disappeared. (That story here)

Following the collapse I contacted the guy I had confronted and learned this 'representative' was simply another victim of the scam. Just as the company was starting to garner a lot of attention, they reached out to their members, carefully selecting true believers,  and offered them pay to show up to industry conferences representing Bitconnect. A final attempt at fixing their public image of a shadowy, nameless, faceless scam.

In closing:

The correct story is of someone so lost in life, he handed his money over to shady online Ponzi scheme promising magic. He seems to have been one of the lucky few who pulled his investment out before it all came crashing down. No skill, just luck.

Journalists - equating this to being involved in cryptocurrency is like someone holding up the worst trashy tabloid magazine, with a cover story saying 'Melana Trump pregnant with alien baby' and saying that you are in the same business as whoever wrote that.

So please, stop.

To the crypto community - if you spot any incorrect claims about the shooter being involved in cryptocurrency - tweet the author a link to this.

Other publications, bloggers, anyone really - you have our permission to re-publish this article on your platforms.

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Author: Ross Davis
E-Mail: Ross@GlobalCryptoPress.com Twitter:@RossFM
San Francisco News Desk


Police in India arrest low level Bitconnect promoter - while the kingpins still enjoy their freedom...

This week articles popped up with headlines like "Alleged head of BitConnect cryptocurrency scam arrested in Dubai" (link) along with many others using similar wording that would have you thinking someone of importance behind the Bitconnect scam was now behind bars.

But make no mistake - the man they arrested is a nobody, and the kingpins who walked away with hundreds of million worth of people's money are still out there enjoying their freedom.

If you're one of the long time readers here at Global Crypto Press you know Bitconnect and myself go way back.  I was one of the more vocal people in the cryptocurrency world trying to warn Bitconnect users that this wasn't going to end well for them.

I was also the only one to ever confront Bitconnect reps in person, at the Silicon Valley Blockchain Expo (That video here).

Bitconnect was a standard pyramid scheme, meaning anyone could sign up and make money from getting others to sign up as well.  The man arrested in India is nothing more than a simple Bitconnect member who signed up a bunch of people under him on the pyramid.

The accused, Divyesh Darji is being called the "head of Bitconnect in India" but is not one of the people behind Bitconnect, at all. In fact, the site was up and running and fairly popular months before the dates of Darji's first posts promoting it.

What he's guilty of is just being one of the more aggressive promoters of their referral program. Darji's mistake was going all out, loving the spotlight, and even holding seminars to entice others to join the scheme.

“Darji was living in Dubai. A look-out circular was issued against him. The Immigration Department alerted us when he was on the way from Dubai to Ahmedabad, after which he was arrested today evening. The company came into existence in 2016, and in 2017, it launched the Bitconnect coin. It remained active till January this year. It released 2.80 crore coins, out of which 1.80 crore coins were sold to investors. The accused held seminars, events in India and other countries promising high interest — daily interest rate of 1 per cent — on investment in Bitconnect coins. The cost of one Bitconnect coin on January 16, 2018, when the company shut down, was USD 362.” a spokesperson for Police stated.

The real people behind Bitconnect never showed their faces, and Darji is a perfect example of why.  Remember - the people behind it knew it was a scam from the beginning, they knew one day it would end and people would be trying to hunt them down.

I have very little pity for Bitconnect "victims" since things reached a point months before Bitconnect ran off with their money, where I believe everyone involved had heard it was a scam - and decided to ignore the warnings while they were still making a profit.

But that doesn't mean those behind the whole operation shouldn't still be punished.

That's perhaps the wildest part of this whole aftermath.  So far we have Bitconnect promoters who had popular YouTube channels promoting Bitconnect getting sued here in the US, and this guy in India getting arrested - but really, these low-level people got their money stolen in the end too.

Then when it comes to the people who actually created Bitconnect - not only have they faced no consequences, but it appears they did such a good job on concealing their identity - no one even knows their names, or what country they reside in.

So just clearing things up from the misleading headlines, no - the "head of Bitconnect" was not arrested.

The FBI's case is still officially "open" though, so maybe there is still hope.

Just filed: Additional video report with more about this story:


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Author: Ross Davis
E-Mail: Ross@GlobalCryptoPress.com Twitter:@RossFM
San Francisco News Desk