Japanese authorities tracked down Monroe and arrested 18 people on a $670,000 racketeering charge.
Japanese authorities have arrested a group of 18 fraudsters after analyzing Monero transactions for the first time in crypto history.
Japanese authorities said they analyzed about 900 of the group's Monero (XMR)-based money transfer transactions, totaling about 100 million yen ($670,000).
Japanese officials told local media Nikkei that this is the first time the country's law enforcement agencies have used Monero transactions to identify criminals.
The crime group and its alleged leader, Yuta Kobayashi, were arrested for money laundering under the privacy protection secret cryptocurrency Monero and computer fraud.
A chain of security incidents in the third quarter of 2024. Source: CertiK
The group of 18 was under investigation in August, shortly after the creation of the National Police Agency's Cyber Special Investigation Unit, which was established in April to combat Japan's rising cybercrime.
Cointelegraph asked Japanese authorities for an analysis of the Monero transactions seized by Japanese authorities, but did not receive an immediate response.
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Crypto crimes: A growing issue for law enforcement, not just in cyberspace
While cyberattacks are an issue in the digital space, authorities are grappling with more physical attacks and violent crimes related to cryptocurrencies.
In the year On August 4, a group of four Chinese nationals broke into a gated property in Pathum Thani, Thailand and forced the victim to hand over $2 million worth of cryptocurrency at gunpoint.
In July, four men took away a foreigner in Kiev, Ukraine, who was known to be in possession of Bitcoin (BTC). The attackers forced the victim to hand over the three bitcoins before stealing them into their wallet.
$3 billion stolen in hacks – why are crypto crimes on the rise? Source: YouTube
This happened after an incident in London on June 17, when three armed men raided a house and forced the owner to hand over 1,000 Ether (ETH), worth more than $2.5 million. Fortunately, the victim was not physically harmed.
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Crypto scams have stolen $19 billion in 13 years
Despite the signs of a maturing industry, crypto scams and exploits are still an issue.
Crypto hacking and fraud per year in US dollars. Source: Crystal Intelligence
About $19 billion worth of crypto has been stolen in 785 hacks and exploits over the past 13 years, according to a Crystal Intelligence report shared with Cointelegraph.
The largest single crypto theft case was the 2019 Plus Token scam, where attackers obtained $2.9 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ether.
Crypto hacks and exploits remain one of the biggest problems hindering mainstream trust and adoption. In the year Crypto hacks in 2024 are likely to peak in 2023, as the first quarter of 2024 saw $542.7 million in stolen funds, a 42% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
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