Atis Shala

Fraudsters weaponize the emotional exhaustion and desperation of previous scam victims, often buying or sharing contact lists within criminal networks to initiate a second round of fraud. Due to the immutable nature of public blockchains, confirmed transactions cannot be reversed. Any service promising a technical “hack-back” or guaranteed recovery is a scam. Fraudulent services rely [...

Most major coins are not anonymous: Bitcoin and Ethereum record every transaction on public ledgers, so privacy depends on the wallet and habits you choose, not the asset. A wallet only counts as anonymous when it is non-custodial, asks for no KYC, and hides network metadata through Tor or your own node. Wasabi 2.x and […]...

A critical supply chain attack has shaken the JavaScript world after the NPM account of a highly respected developer, known under the handle qix, was compromised. According to reports confirmed by Charles Guillemet, Chief Technology Officer of Ledger, the attack has already placed the entire JavaScript ecosystem at risk, with billions of downloads potentially exposed […]...

AML fines almost always stem from systemic, multi-year failures, weak KYC/CDD, missed suspicious-activity reporting, poor transaction monitoring, and inadequate internal controls. Landmark cases include HSBC ($1.9B, 2012), Danske Bank ($2B, 2022), Binance ($4.3B, 2023), the largest crypto AML penalty on record, and TD Bank ($3.09B, 2024), the largest-ever penalty under the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act. [...

Is cryptocurrency a tool for crime, or is it simply misunderstood? Nick Furneaux, a well-known digital forensics expert, argues that “there’s no such thing as crypto crime.” His latest book, There’s No Such Thing as Crypto Crime: An Investigative Handbook, challenges common misconceptions about cryptocurrency and its role in criminal activity. Instead of blaming crypto [&he...