Latest news with #LiuLizhi
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. Sanctions Funnull for Role in Pig Butchering Scam, Huione-Linked Crypto Wallets
The U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Funnull Technology, a provider of technology for websites allegedly involved in so-called pig butchering scams, and two cryptocurrency wallets said to be linked to Huione Group. Philippines-based Funnull also directly facilitated a scam involving virtual currencies resulting in over $200 million in victim losses, OFAC said in a Thursday press release. In addition, the company is alleged to have acquired several IP addresses from mainstream cloud service providers to sell to cybercriminals. The sanctions also cover a Funnull administrator, Liu Lizhi. The majority of cryptocurrency investment scam websites reported to the FBI are linked to Funnull," Blockchain security firm Elliptic said in a blog post, which also identified the sanctioned wallets as being linked to Huione. The wallets on Ethereum and Tron received funds directly from Huione Pay, part of Huione Group, Elliptic said. Huione was labeled as a "primary money laundering concern" by FinCEN earlier this month. The two addresses received more than $4 million in total, according to Elliptic.
GMA Network
3 days ago
- Business
- GMA Network
US sanctions PH-based firm over $200-M virtual currency scam
LOS ANGELES, California — The United States has imposed sanctions on a Philippine-based company that provides critical computer infrastructure for alleged scams involving virtual currency. In separate advisories dated May 29, the United States' Department of State, Department of the Treasury, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) flagged the activities of Funnull Technology Inc. Also sanctioned was its administrator, Chinese citizen Liu Lizhi, according to the State and Treasury Departments. "Fraudulent virtual currency investment scams cause serious financial harm to the American people. Today's targets are directly connected to over $200 million in losses reported by U.S. victims, with an average cost of over $150,000 per individual," the US State Department said in its advisory. It added that the US will continue to hold accountable those who use virtual currencies and online services to commit fraud, as well as cybercriminals who exploit the United States' financial system. Meanwhile, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said Funnull's alleged acts of providing infrastructure to numerous websites involved in virtual currency investment scams is commonly referred to as "pig butchering." "Funnull has directly facilitated several of these schemes, resulting in over $200 million in U.S. victim-reported losses," the OFAC advisory read. Majority of virtual currency investment scam websites reported to the FBI, the OFAC said, are linked to Funnul. Citing a 2023 alert by the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), OFAC said pig butchering scams are largely perpetrated by criminal organizations based in Southeast Asia. These groups exploit victims of labor trafficking to reach out to unsuspecting individuals worldwide. Scammers use fictitious identities, the OFAD said, under the pretense of potential romantic or business relationships, and elaborate storylines to deceive victims. They then steal the victims' assets by convincing them to invest in virtual currency through fake websites designed to look like legitimate investment platforms, which falsely show significant returns. Once a victim is unable or unwilling to invest more, the scammer abruptly cuts off communication—taking the entire investment with them. US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender said the action taken against Funnull underscores the government's "focus on disrupting criminal enterprises," which enable cyber scams and deprive Americans of their savings. "The United States is strongly committed to ensuring the continued growth of a legitimate, safe, and secure digital asset ecosystem, including the use of virtual currencies and similar technologies," he added. The OFAC online statement provided a link to a cybersecurity advisory by the FBI, which indicates technical details about Funnull's operations. GMA News Online has requested comment from Funnull through the email address and Telegram contact number listed in its company website. GMA News Online has also emailed the official addresses indicated in Funnull's corporate document with the Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission. Responses to these requests for comment have yet to be received as of posting time. Under US sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are located in the United States, or in the possession or control of US persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Additionally, any entities owned—directly or indirectly—individually or in the aggregate, 50% or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or otherwise exempt, OFAC regulations generally prohibit all transactions by US persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons. — with a report from Ted Cordero/ VDV, GMA Integrated News
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
US sanctions Philippines digital infrastructure provider linked to virtual currency scams
WASHINGTON: The US Treasury is placing under sanctions a Philippines-based company accused of providing internet infrastructure to a swathe of virtual currency investment scams, better known as "pig butchering." In a statement issued on Thursday (May 29), Treasury officials said they were taking action against Funnull Technology Inc., which they accused of buying internet protocol addresses in bulk from other service providers and reselling them to cybercriminals. An alleged administrator of Funnull, Chinese citizen Liu Lizhi, was also placed under sanctions. Reuters could not immediately locate contact information for Liu, who the Treasury described as being 40 years old and linked to addresses in Shanghai and Ganzhou. A message seeking comment from Funnull was not immediately returned. Reuters' attempt to locate Funnull in the Philippines' corporate registry was unsuccessful. Virtual currency investment scams - which typically work by convincing people to put their money into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes - have become a billion-dollar industry, run by organised crime and fueled by human trafficking. The scams often rely on bogus websites to swindle their victims, and earlier this year researchers from cybersecurity firm Silent Push tied Funnull to a network of such sites, along with thousands of other devoted to suspected gambling or money laundering. Pig butchering scams, which originated in China, now target people worldwide. Earlier this year, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said revenues from the scams were at a record high, likely boosted by the use of generative algorithms to help scammers better tailor their pitches and talk to more people at a time. - Reuters
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Beware the Friendly Texts From Strangers: US Sanctions Web Host Tied to $200M in Online Scam Losses
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. The US has sanctioned a web hosting provider in the Philippines that's allegedly been selling thousands of internet domains to fraudsters. On Thursday, the Treasury Department issued the sanctions against Funnull Technology and its administrator, a Chinese national named Liu Lizhi. The agency accuses Funnull of supplying the 'computer infrastructure for hundreds of thousands of websites involved in virtual currency investment scams, commonly known as 'pig butchering.'" According to the Treasury Department, "Funnull has directly facilitated several of these schemes, resulting in over $200 million in US victim-reported losses." This comes as the US has been trying to hit back at Asia-based scammers running large compounds dedicated to online fraud. Funnull allegedly generates "large numbers of similar but unique names" for fraudulent websites, and even provides web design templates to the cybercriminals, the Treasury Department says. 'The scammers then steal victims' assets by convincing them to invest in virtual currency through a fake website designed to look like a legitimate investment platform that reflects significant, but fabricated, returns on the investment,' the agency added. The FBI issued its own alert, which includes a list of domain names involved in the fraud. Scammers often reach out to US users through texts or social media messages. They pose as a potential romantic partner or friend, with the goal of gaining the victim's trust before asking them to invest in a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme. 'Funnull facilitates these scams by purchasing IP addresses and providing hosting services and other internet infrastructure to groups performing these frauds,' the FBI adds. 'Funnull acquires these facilities from legitimate providers in the United States and sells them to cyber criminals.' However, the sanctions promise to cut off Funnull from purchasing internet domains from US companies. Funnull didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US government sanctions tech company involved in cyber scams
The U.S. government imposed sanctions on Funnull, a company accused of providing infrastructure for cybercriminals running "pig butchering" crypto scams that have led to $200 million in losses for American victims. On Thursday, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the sanctions, saying Funnull is "linked to the majority of virtual currency investment scam websites reported to the FBI.' The press release said that the $200 million in losses results in an average loss of $150,000 per victim, but that the numbers "likely underestimate the total losses, as many victims of scams do not report the crime.' Pig butchering scams involve criminals approaching victims online, often pretending to be interested in a romantic relationship, with the goal of tricking the victims into sending them money to invest in nonexistent crypto projects. According to the Treasury, Funnull is based in the Philippines and run by Chinese-national Liu Lizhi, who was also sanctioned on Thursday. Funnull, according to the Treasury, generated domain names for websites on IP addresses it owns, and provided 'web design templates to cybercriminals.' 'These services not only make it easier for cybercriminals to impersonate trusted brands when creating scam websites, but also allow them to quickly change to different domain names and IP addresses when legitimate providers attempt to take the websites down,' the Treasury said. The FBI released an alert that included more information about these activities. The Treasury referred to the Polyfill supply chain attack in its press release, saying Funnell 'purchased a repository of code used by web developers and maliciously altered the code to redirect visitors of legitimate websites to scam websites and online gambling sites, some of which are linked to Chinese criminal money laundering operations.' Those activities are exactly what researchers from cybersecurity firm Silent Push accused FUNNULL of carrying out last year. Researchers found that Funnull was responsible for the Polyfill supply chain attack, which was launched to push malware to whoever visited websites that used Polyfill's code. The goal was to redirect users to a malicious network of casino and online gambling sites, the researchers found. Do you have more information FUNNULL, or other companies facilitating scams? From a non-work device and network, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email. Zach Edwards, a researcher at Silent Push who worked on the Funnull report last year, told TechCrunch that he was 'really glad to see the facts aligned with our suspicions.' 'It's encouraging that the Treasury has taken actions against the largest pig butchering and money laundering network that exists targeting people in the U.S., but we know that more needs to be done,' said Edwards. 'This effort from Funnull is the tip of the iceberg for what is actually going on right now out of China with financial schemes targeting Americans.' 'Global threat actors that are targeting Americans with financial scams need to be held accountable, and doxing the companies they work with and the individuals who run those companies, is an important first step,' he added.
