Cyber Crime
REvil Members Under Scanner: FBI Confiscates Bitcoin Worth Rs 17 Cr From Russian Hacker Involved in Ransomware
NEW DELHI: Law authorities in the United States seized around $2.3 million (nearly Rs 17 crores) in cryptocurrencies linked to the infamous hacker organisation, ReVil. The accused has been identified as a Russian national suspected of being involved with REvil, a group infamous for ransomware operations.
REvil ransomware is a file-blocking malware that encrypts data after infection and then deletes the ransom request message. The message demands that the victim pay a Bitcoin ransom and if the ransom is not paid on time, the demand doubles. Affiliates of ransomware gangs are in charge of frontline hacking and taking data from victims’ PCs.
According to a report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intercepted a cryptocurrency wallet containing 40 Bitcoin from Aleksandr Sikerin, an accused affiliate of REvil.
Sikerin’s last known residence was in St. Petersburg, Russia, according to the complaint, as reported by CNN. “The United States of America files this verified complaint in rem against 39.89138522 Bitcoin Seized From Exodus Wallet (“the Defendant Property”), which is now located and in the custody and management of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Dallas Division, One Justice Way, Dallas Texas,” the complaint reads.
The US Justice Department revealed last month that it had seized more than $6 million in ransom payments allegedly paid to Yevgeniy Polyanin, another Russian resident linked to REvil. Around 3,000 ransomware attacks had been carried out by the perpetrator.
Meanwhile, the FBI issued a warning in November to fraudsters who use Bitcoin ATMs and QR codes to deceive unwary individuals. In a recently issued Public Service Announcement (PSA), the FBI stated that there has been an uptick in scammers urging victims to use physical bitcoin ATMs and digital QR codes to complete payment transactions.
“Such schemes include online impersonation schemes (in which a scammer falsely identifies as a familiar entity such as the government, law enforcement, a legal office, or a utility company), romance schemes (in which a scammer establishes an online relationship with a victim by creating a false sense of intimacy and dependency), and lottery schemes (in which a scammer falsely convinces a victim that they have won an award and then demands lottery fees),” according to the PSA.
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