Category: Crypto Scandal

Crypto scandals refer to events involving fraud, mismanagement, or unethical behavior within the cryptocurrency industry. These incidents often lead to significant financial losses, loss of trust, and negative public perception of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Has the Hawk Tuah Girl Been Arrested for Her Memecoin? Here’s the Truth

Hawk Tuah Girl’s $HAWK memecoin crashed 90%, sparking rumors of fraud and arrest, but fact-checks prove it’s false.



The Hawk Tuah Girl, also known as Haliey Welch, was an internet sensation this year, who blew up because of her viral “Hawk Tuah” sound. And just as quickly, it went sideways. It went to market like a bombshell and instantly hit a wild $490-million valuation. In what felt like a dream quickly turned nightmare, the price crashed 90% in 20 minutes, leaving investors in the dust.

Crypto fans weren’t happy, and rumors started swirling that Haliey was arrested for money laundering and securities fraud after the crash. Some wild claims even said she was facing charges for espionage related to the memecoin mess.

However, fact-checkers quickly shut down these rumors. A community note on X confirmed that the arrest claims were bogus, made by people trying to get more engagement for their own projects. The Crypto Times also clarified that Haliey’s still dealing with litigation from upset investors, but there’s no arrest news.

Even though things look bad, another X post suggests the Hawk Tuah Girl’s planning a comeback with a new coin called “Shaquille Oatmeal”, but she’s yet to make an official statement. Stay tuned!

Also Read: Banks Should Be Allowed to Offer Crypto, Says Coinbase

Crypto Tax Crackdown: India Slaps 70% Penalty on Unreported Gains

Overview: The Indian government has begun clamping down on crypto traders by imposing an unbelievable 70% tax penalty for unreported crypto gains. Under the new stringent rule, which is included under Section 158B of the Income Tax Act, comes the 2025 Union Budget aimed at tightening reins over the explosively growing crypto market.Investors who have failed to disclose their gains might well face severe fines, as the government looks back four years for undeclared gains. Crypto, for example, is now classified as a Virtual Digital Asset, or VDA, thereby making it akin to cash, gold, and jewelry for tax purposes in India.

Crypto exchanges and financial platforms are required to report transactions, making it tough to fly under the radar. Last year, the government unearthed $97 million in unpaid Goods and Services Tax from crypto exchanges, putting all major scrutiny on platforms like Binance and Bybit-forcing Bybit to shut down operations in India altogether. It’s not alone in this.

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The U.S. IRS, too, is raising its crypto tax game, imposing more stringent reporting requirements starting in 2025. Some crypto groups even sue the IRS on grounds of unconstitutionality of the new regulations. As governments around the world increase their stranglehold on digital assets, crypto traders will have to keep their wits about them-and be compliant-unless they want to pay the price.

Spotting the Scam: Fake Celebrity Memecoins on the Rise

Trump’s $TRUMP and $MELANIA memecoins sparked hype, but scammers faked celeb coins, duping investors in the volatile crypto game.



47th U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump sent shockwaves in the crypto world with their memecoins, $TRUMP and $MELANIA, respectively. Coming right before Trump’s inaugural ceremony, $TRUMP went berserk on Solana, reaching a market capitalization of $12 billion in 24 hours. Melania followed suit with her own token, but the hype didn’t stop there-it turned into a playground for scammers.

Then, scam coins like $IVANKA and $BARRON began to pop up targeting Trump’s family. Ivanka had to jump onto X, formerly Twitter, to deny involvement with the $IVANKA coin. Barron’s fake token reached a value of 460M and then crashed by 95% to leave investors burnt. These scammers even hijacked poor Dean Norris-the actor that plays Hank in Breaking Bad-with some fake posts endorsing a $DEAN coin. Later, Norris went full Schrader-mode, calling out critics and confirming it was all fake.

Of course, no scam list is complete without Elon Musk. Fake memecoins using his name are everywhere, and Musk’s silence isn’t helping.

Memecoins are pure hype with no real value, but people can’t resist the gamble. Bottom line? Do your research or risk getting wrecked in the wild west of crypto.

Also Read: MicroStrategy Just Dropped $1.1B on BTC—Now Holds 471,107 Coins

India’s ED Investigates Paytm, RazorPay, and PayU in $25M Crypto Scam

Overview: A probe into the $25.5 million crypto scam by the Indian Enforcement Directorate puts big payment players like Paytm, RazorPay, and PayU in the limelight. The investigation, having frozen upwards of more than $5.81M thus far, has reportedly exposed large loopholes in how suspicious transactions were treated.

The HPZ Token scam has India’s financial regulators on red alert. This crypto mining scheme duped people in 20 states, raking in millions before transferring the loot overseas. Now, the ED is investigating eight payment gateways, including big names like Paytm, RazorPay, and PayU, for their part in processing such fraudulent transactions.

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The crackdown unveiled frozen funds across the platforms: PayU leads the chart at $1.51M, Easebuzz follows with $387K, and RazorPay stands at $208K. The reports quote these companies to have helped in facilitating the bulk transactions without flagging suspicion. The ED is grilling the companies as to whether or not they filed the Suspicious Transaction Reports with the RBI or the Financial Intelligence Unit.

This scam operated through more than 50 companies in Delhi and Karnataka, with operations spilling over into Maharashtra and Gujarat. ED is now tracing the cash trail, closing in on crypto fraud.

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This bust is a wake-up call to everybody riding the crypto wave in India. Always DYOR, folks.

Hacker takes over Nasdaq’s X account to push fake memecoin scam

Nasdaq’s X account got hacked to hype a fake memecoin, STONKS, hitting $80M market cap briefly before crashing hard.



The official X account of Nasdaq got hacked, and what unfolded looked completely like a plot from a cybercrime movie. Using the account, the hackers began shilling a memecoin called STONKS by linking it to a fake affiliate account, hyping the token as the next big thing in the market.

Turns out, STONKS was a ripoff of an already existing Solana-based memecoin with the same name, and the original meme’s IP wasn’t even theirs. Still, the fake token went from zero to an $80 million market cap within minutes of launching—talk about wild. But the hype didn’t last long. Just a few days later, its value plummeted, leaving FOMO traders with nothing but regret, according to DEXscreener stats.

This isn’t the first time hackers have pulled this stunt. Hijacking high-profile accounts on X has become a thing lately. Big names, businesses, and even institutions are getting hit, losing money and reputation in the process.

Hitherto, Nasdaq has had absolutely nothing to say about the breach, but this mess is another reminder: secure your accounts! If big dogs like Nasdaq can get hacked, anyone can. Slap those passwords with a raise and add two-factor authentication. Stay safe, fam!

Also Read: Solana Stablecoin Supply Skyrockets 57% Following $TRUMP Token Debut

Hyderabad Woman Scammed Out of ₹77 Lakhs in Crypto Hustle

Summary: A woman from Hyderabad lost ₹77 lakhs, INR 7.7 million, to a fraudulent crypto scheme that seemed like a legitimate investment. The scammers hooked her with small returns, after which they withheld her “profits” and demanded more money.

Crypto scams are getting out of hand, and a 42-year-old woman from Hyderabad is the latest victim. The woman, lured by a Telegram gig in December 2024, started by completing simple tasks like liking YouTube videos and got ₹123 for each. It felt easy and legit—she even earned ₹22,000 over a month.

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The scammers, operating as “Digit Trade Private Ltd,” later hyped a VIP program for crypto investments, promising profits and even covering her losses. Sounds too good, right? That’s because it was. They showed her fake profits in a virtual account but blocked withdrawals, making her cough up more cash for “taxes” and “authorization.”

At one point, she was dropping ₹15 lakhs in a single day, convinced she’d hit the jackpot. But when withdrawals didn’t work and they kept asking for more, the penny dropped—she was scammed. By then, she’d lost her family savings.

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Police are investigating, but here’s the takeaway: stick to legit platforms, and if something feels too good to be true, it probably is.Hyderabad Woman Scammed Out of ₹77 Lakhs in Crypto

Trader Loses $1M in 2 Hours on BARRON Coin—Classic FOMO Fail

TL;DR: A trader blew $1 million in just two hours chasing the hype around the BARRON memecoin, mistakenly linked to Barron Trump. Turns out, it was all a pump-and-dump scam, and the token’s value tanked.

Here’s the tea: The trader bought BARRON at its peak, hoping to cash in on the buzz. The coin shot up 90% in a minute but nosedived just as fast, wiping out its value. People assumed it was tied to the Trump family because of the name, but nope—zero connection. Lookonchain even posted the receipts on X, warning folks not to trade based on FOMO.

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This isn’t the first time Trump-related tokens caused chaos. Recently, Donald Trump himself dropped the $TRUMP token, which blew up, followed by the $MELANIA coin today. Both had traders scrambling, but here’s the kicker: $MELANIA’s launch tanked $TRUMP’s price as traders switched tokensThen $MELANIA dropped too, falling from $17 to $7 in hours.

Moral of the story? Not every meme coin is a golden ticket. Watch FOMO traps, or you may just end up with our $1M trader—holding a bag of nothing.

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‘Transaction Simulation Spoofing’: The New Crypto Scam You Need to Know

Crypto scams just keep getting sneakier. The latest scheme on the block? ‘Transaction simulation spoofing.’ Scammers are setting up fake websites that look just like legit platforms for transaction simulations, tricking users into handing over their crypto.

Transaction simulations, or ‘dry runs,’ let you preview a transaction’s outcome before confirming it—basically a safety net. But these scams hit where it hurts: they’re targeting people trying to be safe.

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Here’s the play: scammers build sketchy sites that promise transaction simulations with a little ETH reward for using their ‘claim’ function. While users wait for the transaction to go through, the scammers quickly alter the smart contract. Once signed, boom—their wallets get drained. One unlucky user lost 143.45 ETH (nearly $460,000). Ouch.

How do you dodge this? Don’t fall for random ‘free claim’ services and always double-check websites. Tools like ScamSniffer on Chrome are clutch for keeping your crypto secure.

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The crypto space lost $494M to scams last year—wild, right? But remember, crypto’s still a safe bet if you stick to trusted platforms (like Binance for new tokens) and stay smart. At the end of the day, vigilance is your best friend in this game. Stay sharp out there!

Crypto ‘Godfather’ and LA Deputy Plead Guilty to Major Crimes

A crypto mogul known as “The Godfather” and a Los Angeles deputy are about to face some serious time after they pleaded guilty to a bunch of federal charges, including conspiracy, wire fraud, and tax evasion.

Those taking part in the shadowy scheme included extortion, intimidation, and abuse of law enforcement powers for personal gain, putting 24-year-old Adam Iza and 41-year-old LASD deputy Eric Chase Saavedra behind bars. Iza was previously used to hanging out in fancy neighborhoods such as Bel Air and was arrested this September 2024 while Saavedra was pulling strings with his private security company.

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Iza hired off-duty deputies, paying them up to $100K/month to intimidate his rivals.He used his badge to steal confidential police data and even procured sham search warrants against individuals. The most distressing of these was the attempted armed robbery in January 2022 to steal a $100M crypto laptop.

Iza defrauded millions, too, using hacked Facebook ads to finance their operations, and evaded more than $6.7M of taxes in 2021. Saavedra failed to report $373K in income that very same year.

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Iza is facing up to 35 years; Saavedra’s looking at up to 13. Both are expected in court in the next several days.

PumpFun Corp Hit with Lawsuit Over Alleged Pump-and-Dump Scandal

PumpFun Corp faces a class-action lawsuit for allegedly running a pump-and-dump scheme. They have basically been accused of misleading investors, and targeting minors.



PumpFun Corp is in serious legal hot water after being hit with a class-action lawsuit. The company is accused of running a pretty common pump-and-dump scheme with its cryptocurrency, Fun Token, leaving investors with massive losses. The lawsuit, filed in New York by the law firm Silver Miller, claims that PumpFun Corp inflated Fun Token’s price, only to crash it shortly after, causing huge financial damage to investors.

The case points fingers at the company’s trading platform, Pump.Fun, which allegedly fostered risky, speculative trading by using gamified designs and overselling the profit potential of crypto. The lawsuit also highlights major flaws in investor protections, like missing KYC (Know Your Customer) checks, no age verification, and lack of clear risk disclosures—plus some shady marketing practices that made everything seem way safer than it really was.

Silver Miller is urging anyone who feels they’ve been scammed by the platform to join the lawsuit. If anything this case really serves as a big warning to crypto traders to do their homework and avoid falling for flashy promises of quick gains. PumpFun is being pushed to answer for its actions, and more updates will follow as the case progresses.

Also Read: Move Over SOL: The Ripple vs Ethereum Battle Heats Up in 2025

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