Authorities shut down leading cryptocurrency mixing service Bestmixer.io, for offering money laundering service.
The mixing service allows attackers to mix the Bitcoins earned through ransom payments hundreds of smaller transactions and mixes different transactions from other sources for obfuscation.
As a result of the joint operation between FIOD and Europol, the world’s leading cryptocurrency Mixing Service was taken down. It offers services for mixing cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins, bitcoin cash, and litecoins.
“The investigation gathered information regarding transactions between customers and Bestmixer.io. The customers are located all over the world, especially in the US, Germany and the Netherlands,” reads FIOD press release.
The service hides the origin or destination of cryptocurrencies by splitting up the and after they mixed it with different combinations and sent to the destination accounts by cutting the commission payments.
Earlier in June 2018, FIOD, along with the support of McAfee seized six serves belongs to the mixer service in the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Generally, users use mixing services to increase the anonymity, but the “according to the investigation it reveals many of the mixed cryptocurrencies have a criminal origin or destination and the mixer used to conceal and launder criminal flows of money.” says FIOD.
By using these cryptocurrencies, Mixing Service attackers can split the ransom payments received from victims, which makes the tracking process more difficult. The company achieved a turnover of at least $200 million within a year.
This is the first ever shut down of cryptocurrency mixer service shut down by the authorities, “the operation against Bestmixer.io is a significant and important step in the fight against criminal flows of money in general and virtual criminal flows of money in particular,” reads FIOD press release.
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