British Luxury Firm Abandoned Post-Bitcoin Scam

• Last year, the scammers demanded $15 million in Bitcoin from Graff Diamonds.
• The jewelry had paid $7.5 million in Bitcoin to the Conti ransomware group.

As per the reports from a London lawsuit, Graff Diamonds, a British luxury jewelry firm, has paid $7.5 million in Bitcoin to a group of Russian hackers to finish up the leaking of the company’s confidential data. According to reports, the jewelry firm filed a case against their insurer, The Travelers Companies in London High Court, for being unwilling to compensate the firm’s loss from the ransom.

A Graff official recently expressed the insurer’s action as extremely frustrated and disappointed, as they refused to pay.

The official also added:

The criminals threatened targeted publication of our customers’ private purchases. We were determined to take all possible steps to protect their interests and so negotiated a payment which successfully neutralized that threat.

Prey to Bitcoin Scammers’ Threat

Last September, the Conti ransomware group hacked the jewelry and leaked data of some royal families in the Middle East. The cybercriminals apologized to Graff’s royal clients from Saudi Arabia, but later they said that they were looking to leak more secret data. According to reports from the previous year, the attackers also hacked the files regarding famous personalities such as Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, and David Beckham.

The Conti hackers demanded the Graff for $15 million in Bitcoin. But on November 3, 2021, the jewelry had paid $7.5 million in Bitcoin to them, nearly half of the amount. On that day, the value of a single Bitcoin was around  $63,000. Bitcoin also hit an all-time high of $69,000 in the same month. 

Cyber attacks and fraud activities are rising in digital assets, as government officials attempt to implement an updated security system to protect them from scams.