ChainCatcher News: U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman announced that victims of business email compromise (BEC) who lost millions of dollars may be compensated due to the swift actions of the U.S. Secret Service and the asset forfeiture division of the U.S. Attorney's Office. In December 2023, a company engaged in real estate transactions reported that its system had been breached, with scammers stealing over $1 million by submitting fraudulent wire transfer instructions.Investigations revealed that at least ten other businesses or individuals were also victimized, with losses ranging from $75,000 to $425,000. The funds obtained from these scams were laundered through multiple bank accounts, some of which were held by "money mules," and were subsequently consolidated into a cryptocurrency wallet controlled by Nigerian scammers.Law enforcement acted quickly, seizing approximately 32.68 bitcoins from the scammers' cryptocurrency wallet, valued at around $900,000 at the time. The U.S. Attorney's Office subsequently filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit for the seized bitcoins. Since the seizure, the price of bitcoin has more than tripled. Due to the increase in bitcoin prices, ten victims who have filed claims may receive full compensation.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Washington Post, in the early hours of Tuesday local time, U.S. Secret Service agents fired a shot at a carjacker attempting to break into the vicinity of Treasury Secretary Yellen's home. No one was hit, and the suspect has not been arrested yet. (Jin Ten)

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the "Strengthening Presidential Security Act," aimed at enhancing the Secret Service's protection of major presidential candidates. After U.S. Republican presidential candidate Trump faced two "assassination attempts" this year, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the bill on September 20 and submitted it for Senate review. The bill will strengthen the Secret Service's protection of presidential candidates to the same level as the current president. Additionally, the bill expands presidential-level protection to vice presidential candidates and requires the Secret Service to regularly report to the leaders of the House and Senate on the status of candidate protection.

ChainCatcher News, former U.S. President Trump stated: "We have long requested to increase more Secret Service personnel to ensure my safety. I am receiving more protection from the Secret Service." (Jin Ten)

ChainCatcher News, President Biden stated, "I have instructed my team to ensure that the Secret Service has sufficient resources to secure Trump's safety."

ChainCatcher news, according to Jin Shi reports, after the resignation of Secret Service Director Chetel due to the attack on Trump, President Biden expressed gratitude for Chetel's service. The independent investigation into the July 13 rally attack is still ongoing, and a new Secret Service Director will be appointed soon.

ChainCatcher news, according to MSNBC, U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned following the attack on Trump.

ChainCatcher News, U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle stated that she will take full responsibility for the security lapses related to the attempted assassination of Trump."The solemn mission of the Secret Service is to protect the leaders of our nation," Cheatle will tell lawmakers on Monday. "On July 13, we failed to do that." On Monday, Cheatle will make the above remarks at a congressional hearing, where she will face the most intense questioning since the shooting incident. The hearing will last for several hours, with dozens of lawmakers expected to question her, including some calling for her resignation. The shooting at the Trump campaign rally has created a crisis for the U.S. Secret Service, which acknowledged over the weekend that it had rejected previous requests for enhanced protection.

ChainCatcher news, according to Punchbowl, the U.S. Secret Service will brief the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday regarding the assassination attempt on Trump. U.S. Republican Congressman Greene will have a call today with the Deputy Director of the FBI about the assassination attempt on Trump.Additionally, according to Fox News, the Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee also plans to speak with the Deputy Director of the FBI.

ChainCatcher message, Trump posted a statement on social media saying, thank you to the U.S. Secret Service, the bullet went through the upper part of my right ear, and I currently know nothing about the shooter.

ChainCatcher News: The U.S. Secret Service has seized a network domain used for a "pig butchering" scam involving cryptocurrency trust fraud. In a "pig butchering" scam, fraudsters contact victims through various means, including dating apps, social media websites, and even random text messages disguised as wrong numbers.It is reported that the fraudsters establish a relationship with the victims and gradually gain their trust, ultimately introducing the idea of using cryptocurrency for business investments. Victims are directed to other members involved in the scheme, who operate fake cryptocurrency investment platforms where victims are persuaded to invest funds. Once the funds are transferred to the fraudulent investment application, victims suffer significant losses.According to court records, between approximately August 2022 and July 2023, the fraudsters lured a victim from Warren County to wire funds to the now-seized domain OKEX-NFT.net. The fraudsters employed the aforementioned trust-building techniques to convince the victim that he/she was making a legitimate cryptocurrency investment.Furthermore, after the victim transferred investment funds to a deposit address associated with the seized domain provided by the fraudsters, the victim's funds were immediately transferred through multiple bank accounts to conceal the source of the funds. In total, the victim lost over $341,000.

According to ChainCatcher, The Block reported that Tether has sent letters to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, as well as the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, outlining its "commitment to security and close cooperation with law enforcement."In a recent letter, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized Tether's recent decision to prohibit the use of USDT in all wallets on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list.Tether claims to have helped the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Secret Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) freeze 326 wallets controlling 435 million USDT so far, although the tokens in the most recently frozen wallets appear to be far less than this number.Ardoino also announced that Tether "recently onboarded the U.S. Secret Service onto our platform and is doing the same for the FBI."

ChainCatcher news, although Bittrex filed for bankruptcy protection in May this year, it may still be profitable as a large number of customers have not requested refunds.Bittrex's lawyer stated in a Delaware court on Wednesday that with the deadline for filing claims having passed, fewer than 36,000 customers have withdrawn approximately $143 million worth of cryptocurrency. In May, after Bittrex's U.S. and Malta subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy, 1.6 million customers received emails requesting them to withdraw their funds, but only a small portion of those actually withdrew.Additionally, the U.S. Secret Service is a major client of the exchange, holding an account with $6.2 million. Bittrex has worked with the agency to assist them in successfully withdrawing their funds.

According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Cointelegraph, the U.S. Secret Service's San Francisco field office and the Bay Area Regional Enforcement Allied Computer Team (REACT) held an AMA event on Reddit, stating that the openness and transparency of blockchain present a "great opportunity" to track the flow of funds and combat criminals. Additionally, the REACT team mentioned that they are both cryptocurrency holders and enthusiasts, and when asked if they would consider launching their own "memecoin," they stated that they have already launched their own NFT series on OpenSea.The REACT team is a multi-jurisdictional group focused on investigating high-tech crimes, dedicated to disrupting criminal networks, identifying emerging threats, and assisting with cases that require specialized knowledge. (Source link)