Scams

Vietnam police reported arresting several suspects in Da Nang over an alleged cryptocurrency scam that mimicked a Nasdaq investment platform and caused losses of more than VND14 billion ($532,800). Authorities said the group operated from Cambodia, used social media and messaging apps to lure victims with promises of high returns, and converted misappropriated funds into crypto while the investigation remains ongoing.

GSPlatformCo Inc., a digital payments operator, says attackers accessed a customer-data system in April of last year. The company discovered the intrusion in November and filed notices with regulators, including Maine's Attorney General, in January. Breach disclosures state 537,877 U.S. individuals were affected, with exposure limited to basic personal details and account/transaction metadata.

On January 17, 2026, major US banks including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America and Wells Fargo detailed new safeguards for Zelle transfers, according to NBC San Diego. Measures range from blocking payments tied to social media contacts to fraud attestations and pop‑up warnings. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges more than $870 million was lost to Zelle scams over seven years.

On January 10, a high-value crypto wallet was compromised through a social engineering scheme, leading to the loss of more than $280 million in digital assets. The attacker rapidly converted large Litecoin and four-figure Bitcoin holdings via instant swaps, privacy coins such as Monero, and cross-chain bridges like THORChain, causing notable market volatility. Investigators have not linked the theft to any state-backed group, and the victim's identity remains undisclosed.

A proposed $10,000,000 class action settlement arising from an August 2022 cyberattack on Nelnet would allow affected borrowers to claim up to $5,000 with documented out-of-pocket losses. The incident allegedly exposed data of 2,501,324 OSLA and Edfinancial customers. Claims and opt-out or objection are due March 5, with final approval hearing set for May 5.

On 17 January 2026 at 14:20, a single self-custody wallet was drained of more than $282 million after the owner disclosed a hardware recovery phrase. According to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, no technical exploit was involved. Cybersecurity firm ZeroShadow said about $700,000 was flagged and frozen as the thief moved funds across chains and into Monero.

On January 17, 2026, former Ripple CTO David Schwartz cautioned that copy trading can mislead followers by elevating luck as skill. He warned that choosing leaders based on past wins makes it hard to avoid luck-driven records and urged caution when assessing track records.

On October 23, 2025, a shared network drive at law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP used by JPMorgan Chase was accessed by an unauthorized party, exposing data tied to 659 bank customers. The compromised files contained names along with account numbers, Social Security numbers, passport or other government ID details, and contact information, and Chase is now notifying affected clients, urging them to watch for identity theft and offering two years of complimentary credit monitoring.

On January 17, 2026, Rokas Baltrusaitis outlined how fatigue undermines crypto security, leading to rushed approvals, skipped checks, and subtle risk judgment errors. The article argues that 24/7 markets and convenience tools intensify decision overload, making attention management a primary defense. It recommends adding review friction, segmenting wallets, and routinely revoking stale permissions.

On January 10, 2026, an on-chain investigator reported that a hardware wallet social engineering scam led to more than $282 million in BTC and LTC being stolen and routed into Monero via multiple instant exchanges. The attacker also bridged a substantial share of the BTC to Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin using THORChain, while Monero's price surged from around $450 to near $800 before later pulling back below $630.