BitWhisk Relaunched Fraud Site

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BitWhisk

BitWhisk was a bitcoin mixing service launched around March 2018. Users could give bitcoin to receive mixed bitcoin. The service went offline around November 2018 after mixing just 3 BTC. Since that time, a fraudster set up a fake mixing service on the same domain. A small amount of funds have been sent to the fraudulent mixer service.

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.

About BitWhisk

"Bitcoin mixing, also referred to as Bitcoin tumbling or Bitcoin laundering, is the process of using a service like ours to break the connection between a Bitcoin sending and receiving address." "In the near future it may be simple for anyone- including friends, relatives, employers, and law enforcement, to track every Bitcoin transaction you’ve ever made and see exactly where it ended up. Breaking the connection between your addresses and the coins’ destination by mixing them is certainly a precaution that all Bitcoin users should take. You NEED to use a Bitcoin mixer to protect your privacy and safety."

"Virtual currency is part of the here and now, but with it comes the need to “guard your wallet.” BitWhisk’s high volume bitcoin mixer keeps your identity safe by offering premium mixing service with the ability to handle even the largest bitcoin transactions." "Cleans the coins instantly, you can set the time. After the intial transaction you send to BitWhisk has 1 confirmations, the coins will be cleaned and sent back to you with 1 transaction immediately. The process can take up to 48 hours."

"The mixer had been operating for less than a year before it was closed. Bitwhisk mixed only 3 BTC in that period of time with a much lower mixing reserve." "Closing after 5th November. If you want us to stay you may donate, we need around 0.05BTC to pay server's costs for the next 3 months."

"Bitwhisk.io closed business in 2018 but the website is online again with different design and intention. Probably a scammer bought the domain." "All of a sudden Bitwhisk.io is online again with domain information indicating that the domain was registered last July."

"Thanks to @o_e_l_e_o's sharp alertness. He discovered that the so called Bitcoin Tumble was forward the same address to different users which translates to pure scam."

"So I have just accessed this website from 3 different devices in 3 different browsers and on 3 different IPs, and entered a different addresses to "receive" my mixed coins to each time. On every single instance, it told me to send coins to the same address, and they would be mixed and sent back to the address I had entered."

"If anyone else would like to verify they are also shown the address above, then it pretty much confirms that this is a scam. A scam so poorly set up they couldn't even be bothered to generate a new address for each victim."

"The address has already started receiving money from victims."

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.

The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.

Include:

• Known history of when and how the service was started.
• What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
• What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
• Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
• Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
• How were people recruited to participate?
• Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.

Don't Include:

• Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
• Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.

There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.

The Reality

This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

• When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
• Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
• How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
• Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

What Happened

The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.

Key Event Timeline - BitWhisk Relaunched Fraud Site

Date	Event	Description
August 23rd, 2019 6:34:28 AM MDT	Main Event	Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.

Technical Details

This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost has been estimated at $2,000 USD.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

Immediate Reactions

How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?

Ultimate Outcome

What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?

Total Amount Recovered

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

Ongoing Developments

What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?

Individual Prevention Policies

No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.

Platform Prevention Policies

Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.