'Liberty Reserve' Currency Exchange Closed Down
U.S. authorities say a website that allowed users to convert money into virtual currency was a front for money laundering operations. The Liberty Reserve site was shut down amid claims it helped criminals 'clean' more than $6 billion dollars.
The site, which is based in Costa Rica, billed itself as an easy way to transfer money to people, regardless of their location. Unlike PayPal, Liberty Reserve didn't process direct payments between people.
Instead, users could convert their cash into either 'Liberty Reserve Dollars' or 'Liberty Reserve Euros,' which were tied to the value of the real-world currencies.
The user could then make a payment to somebody else, which could be withdrawn and converted into real cash. The site took a 1 per cent commission on transactions.
No Questions Asked Over Currency Exchange
To use the service, a customer merely had to provide a name, email address, and date of birth. That led U.S. tax officials to suspect it was an easy way for people to hide criminal activity from the authorities.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) then carried out a secret investigation to gather data on the operation. DoJ officials now say they have evidence of both money laundering and "operation of an unlicensed money transmission system."
In fact, they say the service was specifically designed to aid criminals.
While investigating the service an undercover agent signed up using the name "Joe Bogus" while choosing "tostealeverything" as his account identification name, neither of which led to any questions from site staff. (Source: bloomberg.com)
Liberty Reserve Web Address Seized By Court
Five leading Liberty Reserve figures have been arrested in raids in Costa Rica, Spain, and the U.S. Law enforcement officers seized the servers used to physically operate the service, while a U.S. court took control of the domain name used by the site.
Around one million people are thought to have used the site for a total of 55 million transactions. It's difficult to be certain of the numbers as there's no easy way to tell how many people operated multiple accounts.
Security experts report that some suspected online criminals have already complained about losing cash with the sudden closure of the site.
It's also possible law enforcement officials could use the data on the seized servers to identify criminals, though they may need the cooperation of Liberty Reserve staff to decrypt files. (Source: bbc.co.uk)
Most popular articles
- Which Processor is Better: Intel or AMD? - Explained
- How to Prevent Ransomware in 2018 - 10 Steps
- 5 Best Anti Ransomware Software Free
- How to Fix: Computer / Network Infected with Ransomware (10 Steps)
- How to Fix: Your Computer is Infected, Call This Number (Scam)
- Scammed by Informatico Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by Smart PC Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by Right PC Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by PC / Web Network Experts? Here's What to Do
- How to Fix: Windows Update Won't Update
- Explained: Do I need a VPN? Are VPNs Safe for Online Banking?
- Explained: VPN vs Proxy; What's the Difference?
- Explained: Difference Between VPN Server and VPN (Service)
- Forgot Password? How to: Reset Any Password: Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10
- How to: Use a Firewall to Block Full Screen Ads on Android
- Explained: Absolute Best way to Limit Data on Android
- Explained: Difference Between Dark Web, Deep Net, Darknet and More
- Explained: If I Reset Windows 10 will it Remove Malware?

I can help! Send me a message on the bottom left of the screen (using the Zopim Chat button), or click my picture to read more about how I can fix your computer over the Internet. Optionally you can read all about my credentials, here.
Most popular articles
- Which Processor is Better: Intel or AMD? - Explained
- How to Prevent Ransomware in 2018 - 10 Steps
- 5 Best Anti Ransomware Software Free
- How to Fix: Computer / Network Infected with Ransomware (10 Steps)
- How to Fix: Your Computer is Infected, Call This Number (Scam)
- Scammed by Informatico Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by Smart PC Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by Right PC Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by PC / Web Network Experts? Here's What to Do
- How to Fix: Windows Update Won't Update
- Explained: Do I need a VPN? Are VPNs Safe for Online Banking?
- Explained: VPN vs Proxy; What's the Difference?
- Explained: Difference Between VPN Server and VPN (Service)
- Forgot Password? How to: Reset Any Password: Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10
- How to: Use a Firewall to Block Full Screen Ads on Android
- Explained: Absolute Best way to Limit Data on Android
- Explained: Difference Between Dark Web, Deep Net, Darknet and More
- Explained: If I Reset Windows 10 will it Remove Malware?