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Crypto Losses Fall To $452m, Says Report

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Cryptocurrency losses resulting from hacks and scams fell by $452m in the first quarter of 2023, De.Fi, an antivirus and app provider firm, has disclosed.

In its latest report, titled ‘Report: $452m Lost in Crypto in Q1 2023. New Trends of Hacks and Scams’, the firm stated that this was a 65.23 per cent decline from the $1.3bn recorded in the corresponding period in the prior year.

The report stated that crypto losses mounted to a nine-figure amount in March, for the second in a row. It said $215m was lost in March alone.

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The firm noted, “Out of the $452m lost in Q1, a total of $215m was lost in just the first 20 days of March, underscoring the rapid pace at which scammers have been operating in recent weeks.

READ ALSO: US Accuses World’s Largest Crypto Platform, Binance Of Illegal Operations

“While these losses are staggering, they also mark a decrease as compared to the same period in 2022, wherein Q1 saw $1.3bn lost.”

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It explained that the biggest losses in Q1 were due to flash loan issues, which had been on the rise in recent months, with over $200m lost through the channel.

The firm, which claimed to maintain the largest database of hacks, scams, and exploits in the crypto verse, stated that the Ethereum chain was where the highest losses were recorded in the quarter.

In terms of recovery, “$130m was recovered in Q1 this year, marking a recovery rate of 28.7 per cent.”

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In the corresponding period of 2022, $520m, 40 per cent of funds, was recovered. Scammers leveraged new tokens to lure unsuspecting crypto investors in Q1.

READ ALSO: Police Arraign Cryptocurrency Marketer Over Alleged N51.7m Fraud

The firm stated, “In terms of attack vectors, tokens proved to be the most popular targets this year so far — this is unsurprising given that tokens are easy to deploy, and prey on the fear of missing out experienced by many new crypto investors.

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“This is especially true with the market comeback in recent days. In terms of amounts lost, though, lending and borrowing protocols took the prize, it was driven by a small number of high profile events — Euler Finance and BonqDAO.”

Investors on crypto platforms that lost the most include Euler ($196m), BonqDAO ($120m), CoinDeal ($45m), Monkey Drainer ($16.5m), and Platypus Finance ($8.5m).

De.Fi concluded by noting that the significant surge in financial losses in Q1 underscored the need for heightened risk management and vigilance when investing in the decentralised finance sector on the part of investors.

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READ ALSO: Bitcoin Slumps Below $23,000 In Crypto Crash

“It is crucial for investors to educate themselves on potential dangers and implement appropriate measures to protect their investments,” it added.

Crypto scams have been on a rise in recent times as the adoption of crypto continues to grow in many countries. Nigerians are one of the largest users of crypto and are not isolated from these scams.

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According to a report by Finder.com, 27 per cent of Nigerian Internet users own cryptocurrency assets.

A recent report by Chainalysis disclosed that 24 per cent of tokens created in 2022 were scams. Most of these scams were created on a pump-and-dump principle, adding that the creators would hype and promote these tokens (crypto assets) to other investors, leading to a price increase as new investors buy.

This would allow the creators to sell their overvalued shares at a profit, eventually leading to a price crash, and leaving new investors stuck with low-value assets, the report stated.

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According to Chainalysis, investors spent $4.6bn on this scam last year.

 

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UK Police Arrest Asylum Seeker Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed

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The UK police on Sunday arrested an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, whose crimes had sparked anti-immigration protests, after he was accidentally released from prison in an embarrassing blunder by British authorities.

London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested Hadush Kebatu in the north of the capital on Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after he was mistakenly freed around 30 miles (48 kilometres) away.

Kebatu, 38, had served the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, but was reportedly due to be deported when the Prison Service error occurred on Friday.

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His high-profile case earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, sparked demonstrations in various English towns and cities where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, as well as counter-protests.

READ ALSO:UK Police Hunt Asylum Seeker Mistakenly Freed For Sex Offence

Commander James Conway, who oversaw the manhunt for him, said “information from the public” led officers to the Finsbury Park neighbourhood of London, where he was found.

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He was detained by police but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service,” he added.

Kebatu is now expected to be deported.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was “appalled” by the “totally unacceptable” mistake that saw him freed rather than sent to an immigration detention centre.

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The Telegraph newspaper said he was wrongly categorised for release on licence and handed a £76 ($101) discharge grant.

READ ALSO:Alleged Misappropriation: MFM Accuses UK Agency Of Discrimination

Police had appealed Saturday for Kebatu to turn himself in, after reports emerged that he had appeared confused and reluctant to leave the prison in Chelmsford, eastern England.

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A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return several times in a “very confused” state, only to be turned away by staff and directed to the railway station.

The driver told Sky News he saw Kebatu outside the jail, asking, “Where am I going? What am I doing?”

He was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed,” the driver said.

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READ ALSO:UK Is A Home, Not Hotel, Kemi Badenoch Tells Immigrants, Starmer’s Govt

The father of Kebatu’s anonymous teenage victim told the broadcaster that “the justice system has let us down.”

Police arrested the asylum seeker in July after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.

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He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.

He was staying at the time at Epping’s Bell Hotel, where scores of other asylum seekers have been accommodated, and which became the target of repeated protests.

AFP

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Madagascar Revokes Ousted President’s Nationality

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Madagascar’s new government has stripped ousted president Andry Rajoelina of his Malagasy nationality in a decree published Friday, 10 days after he was removed in a military takeover.

According to AFP, the decree means that Rajoelina, who was impeached on October 14 after fleeing the island nation in the wake of weeks of protests, would not be able to contest future election.

The decree published in the official gazette said Rajoelina’s Malagasy nationality was revoked because he had acquired French nationality in 2014, local media reported, as photographs of the document were shared online.

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READ ALSO:Madagascar’s President Denounces ‘Coup Attempt’ As Gen Z Protests Escalate

French broadcaster RFI said it had confirmed the decree with the entourage of the new prime minister, Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, who signed the order.

The decree cited laws stipulating that a Malagasy who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality loses their Malagasy nationality.

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Rajoelina’s French nationality caused a scandal when it was revealed ahead of the November 2023 elections, nearly 10 years after it was granted.

READ ALSO:Madagascar Passes Bill To Castrate Child R*pists

It triggered calls for him to be disqualified but he went on to win the contested polls, which were boycotted by opposition parties.

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The 51-year-old politician fled Madagascar after army Colonel Michael Randrianirina said on October 11 his CAPSAT unit would refuse orders to put down the youth-led protest movement, which security forces had attempted to suppress with violence.

Rajoelina said later he was in hiding for his safety, but did not say where.

Randrianirina was sworn in as president on October 14, pledging elections within two years.

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Kamala Harris Hints At Running For President Again

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Former US vice president Kamala Harris said in a British television interview previewed in Saturday that she may “possibly” run again to be president.

Harris, who replaced Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate but lost to Donald Trump, told the BBC that she had not yet decided whether to make another White House bid.

But the 61-year-old insisted she was “not done” in American politics and that her young grandnieces would see a female president in the Oval Office “in their lifetime, for sure”.

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READ ALSO:FULL LIST: Trump, Kamala, Netanyahu, Others Shortlisted For 2024 Time’s Person Of The Year

“I have lived my entire career a life of service, and it’s in my bones, and there are many ways to serve.

“I’ve not decided yet what I will do in the future, beyond what I am doing right now,” Harris told the British broadcaster in an interview set to air in full on Sunday.

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The comments are the strongest hint yet that Harris could attempt to be the Democratic Party nominee for the 2028 election.

READ ALSO:Kamala Harris Secures Democratic Presidential Nomination

The interview follows the release of her memoir last month, in which she argued it had been “recklessness” to let Biden run for a second term as president.

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She also accused his White House team of failing to support her while she was his deputy, and at times of actively hindering her.

AFP

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