Did you know? 

In the summer of 2021, for the first time in the history of Norway (according to Norwegian law enforcement), a fraudulent cryptocurrency transaction was successfully traced and frozen directly on the blockchain, a feat made possible by the stablecoin provider Tether in its fight against fraudulent activity on the blockchain, marking a significant achievement in the realm of digital forensics.

 

Our co-founder at Chainbrium unfortunately became a victim of this scam, mistakenly sending his cryptocurrency to a deceptive address under the guise of a secure transaction. The culprits had crafted a convincing platform, manipulating it through a third-party application to deceive its users.

 

We, too, once held the notion that stolen cryptocurrency most likely was irretrievable. However, this case shifted our perspective. It was successful due to a cooperation between Tether and Trond Thoresen, a law enforcement investigator from the South West Police Department in Norway (now former law enforcement officer). It’s also thanks to the expertise of Rich Sanders from Pennsylvania, USA and Paul Sibenik from Canada, the CEO of Cryptoforensic Investigators, as well as Miguel Alonso of Tracelon. Our co-founder was therefore lucky enough to be assisted by investigators who have conducted some of the most well-known and high profile investigations to date.

 

Upon noticing discrepancies in the platform's trend compared to the actual trend of Bitcoin, our co-founder immediately reported the scam. With the assistance of a lawyer, Hallvard Gardshol Bjørndal (former prosecutor within economic crimes for the Norwegian law enforcement) and the guidance from Paul Sibenik, the journey to recover the stolen funds began.

 

The blockchain forensic analysis done by Miguel Alonso revealed that the funds had been moved repetitively from one address to another, finally settling in a dormant wallet. This method is known to be a common strategy employed by cybercriminals to launder ill-gotten gains and likely in an attempt to obscure their tracks. Miguel Alonso proceeded to liaise with Norwegian law enforcement and also communicated with Tether regarding a request to freeze the stolen funds.

 

Thanks to Miguel’s meticulous work and the efforts of the Norwegian police in conjunction with Tether, the stolen funds were eventually frozen. In the final stages, before unlocking the funds, our co-founder took measures to safeguard them. He developed a software designed to prevent the criminals from accessing the funds once they were unlocked. This proved to safeguard and provide additional security while successfully recovering the funds and keeping it out of the reach of the criminals. It's worth noting without Tether’s collaboration with law enforcement around the world, experts like Miguel Alonso, Rich Sanders, Paul Sibenik, and the efforts of the South-West police district in Norway, the funds might never have been recovered and the case wouldn't get to its final stage. 

 

Driven by this experience, our co-founder together with attorney Bjørndal was inspired to establish Chainbrium, dedicated to helping individuals navigate the treacherous waters of deceptive digital transactions. We celebrate your wins as if they were our own!