Amid the drama surrounding the ‘whitehat’ Certik hack. Kraken continues its partnership with popular YouTuber KitBoga to combat crypto scammers. This collaboration, which has been going on for over a year, aims to leverage KitBoga’s unique approach to target and expose scammers to gather crucial information that can be used by authorities to detect and investigate these fraudulent operations to delete.
In an innovative effort to tackle crypto fraud, Kraken has teamed up with YouTuber KitBoga, who is known for his creative approach to unmasking scammers. Beyond entertainment, this partnership aims to identify and disrupt fraudulent activities that exploit crypto users.
Kraken has developed a dummy version of the Kraken website that allows KitBoga to trick scammers into believing they can steal his Bitcoin. They don’t realize that every time they enter an address to withdraw his funds, that address is flagged and sent to all crypto exchanges for review. Previous collaborations between Kraken and KitBoga appear to have successfully frozen assets of other scammers preying on the elderly.
Most recent scammers scammed by Kraken and KitBoga
The partnership’s strategy was highlighted in a recent KitBoga video, in which he engaged with a scammer running a common grandparent scam. This scam involves fraudsters who convince elderly people that their grandchildren are in trouble and need money, often paid through Bitcoin ATMs. KitBoga, using his experience and skills, devised a plan to trap the scammer by posing as a concerned grandparent willing to pay the ransom demanded.
KitBoga’s approach involved setting up a fake Bitcoin ATM and a so-called Bitcoin exchange website called Mycoin, operated by his team. By doing this, they were able to manipulate the interaction and gather crucial data from the scammer. The scammer, thinking he was about to receive money, was instead led through a series of frustrating interactions designed to waste his time and gain more information about his activities.
Throughout the video, KitBoga managed to obtain multiple Bitcoin wallet addresses used by the scammer. This information was critical as it allowed the Kraken fraud team to analyze the transaction history associated with these wallets. By identifying patterns and connections, Kraken can trace the flow of stolen funds and potentially recover some of the money sent by scam victims.
Kraken’s Chief Security Officer, Nick Percoco, played a key role in the operation. By joining KitBoga, Pero helped further frustrate the scammer and gather additional information. Their combined efforts demonstrated a proactive approach to cyber fraud, where real-time engagement with scammers can lead to valuable information.
The information collected from the scammer’s wallets, such as transaction history and linked accounts, as well as their IP addresses, provides Kraken’s fraud team with data to work with law enforcement agencies. This collaboration aims to disrupt the scam networks and provide insight into how to prevent such scams in the future. KitBoga stated:
“We were able to report a lot of valuable information to several fraud professionals and investigate some of their crypto accounts.
Hopefully the authorities can work with some of the victims and the exchange that these scammers routed their money through is kind of up to the authorities to investigate at this point, but for now I can rest easy knowing that this guy is probably is haunted by this experience.”
KitBoga’s motivation for these activities is deeply personal and stems from a desire to protect vulnerable individuals, such as his own grandparents, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. His videos serve not only as educational content, but also as a form of digital vigilante justice, aiming to bring scammers to justice and prevent future victims.
Kraken’s involvement illustrates its commitment to security and fraud prevention in the crypto space, as well as its desire to help educate users through entertainment, or “edutainment.” By collaborating with influencers such as KitBoga, Kraken aims to create a safer environment for its users. Kraken has integrated advanced security measures and collaborated with various stakeholders to improve the overall integrity of crypto transactions.
As Kraken reported, this partnership is part of their broader initiative to support cybersecurity efforts. By using unconventional methods and engaging directly with scammers, Kraken hopes to deter fraudulent activity and provide a model for other organizations in the crypto industry.
The partnership with KitBoga not only disrupts individual scam operations, but also contributes to a larger effort to make the crypto ecosystem more secure. This innovative approach demonstrates the potential of combining technological expertise with creative problem solving to tackle complex challenges in the digital age.
Certik returns money to Kraken, ending the drama
Additionally, blockchain security firm CertiK returned funds to Kraken after discovering a critical vulnerability in Kraken’s deposit system, which allowed deposits and withdrawals of large amounts to be fabricated without triggering alerts.
CertiK conducted tests between June 5 and 10, showing that millions could be deposited into a Kraken account and more than $1 million in fabricated cryptocurrency could be withdrawn. The company reported its findings to Kraken on June 10, which resolved the vulnerability on June 12.
However, the situation escalated when Kraken accused CertiK of extortion, claiming that almost $3 million was taken from his wallet. CertiK denies these allegations and states that it plans to return the money used for “white-hat testing” and claims that Kraken threatened its employees and demanded reimbursement of an mismatched amount without proper wallet information. address.
