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What’s in Your Wallet? BestMixer.io Linked to Crypto Dusting

Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:30 PM
Tedra DeSue
Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:30 PM

BestMixer.io set out to help crypto investors protect their identities and ready for stiffer industry regulations. In somewhat of a surprise, it has been singled out for possibly facilitating crypto dusting.

It has been accused of being the source behind bitcoins sent to unwary consumers and companies as part of a crypto dusting hack, according to a crypto space observer.

Mixing It Up

BestMixer.io provides a blending feature that allows crypto holders the ability to mix their new coins to protect their identities.

The blender splits transaction amounts into tiny bits. This helps to ensure that the only person who knows which coins belong to the holder is the holder. BestMixer.io says its blender is so good that even law enforcement members could find it difficult to identify users.

On its website, BestMixer.io states:

“If coins that are under your possession are suspected by law enforcement agencies of having been associated with a suspicious wallet or site previous to your ownership of them, you may have to forfeit those coins in an ensuing investigation.”

In terms of stiffer regulations, governments are already drafting cryptocurrency tax laws. In addition, many law enforcement agencies are keeping tabs on who owns what, according to BestMixer.io. The goal is to control and tax cryptocurrency income, BestMixer.io charges.

Unintended outcome?

Crytpo dusting entails bad actors targeting unwary token holders by sending small amounts of cryptos to their wallets.

Curtis Franklin, Jr. of Dark Reading says  BestMixer.io did this, leaving receivers open to being labeled money-launderers by law enforcement.

The practice of distributing these small amounts of bitcoins may seem like “gifts” to the receivers, Franklin says. However, the “gifts” could trigger tools used to flag accounts that have suspicious activities.

Typically, regulatory algorithms catch such activities.

Dave Jevans, chairman of the Anti-Phishing Working Group, told Franklin:

“You have engaged in a transaction with a known money-laundering service. [So] it will raise the risk on your accounts for any exchange that has implemented anti-money laundering protocols.”

Beating Regulators

BestMixer.io says its blender can help consumers protect their crypto holdings and privacies from “soon-to-be-deployed regulatory frameworks.”

BestMixer.io states:

“With the increasing international spotlight on bitcoin, it’s apparent that regulators are creating laws to monitor and tax bitcoin holdings.”

BestMixer.io has not commented on this dust-up over its blender on its website.

In conclusion, avoid being a victim of crypto dusting by checking your wallet for mysterious bitcoins. If you find any, block them from being sent.

Jevans warns that if you spend the coins, “it will wreak havoc with your privacy.”