Ernst & Young app standardizes tax return for cryptocurrencies

Key facts:

Ernst & Young launches cryptocurrency tax application.

EY CryptoPrep supports a wide variety of cryptocurrencies.

Ernst & Young LLP (EY), a leading audit, tax, finance and advisory services company, today announced the launch of EY CryptoPrep, a cryptocurrency app that helps with U.S. tax returns.

The new product offers an automated cryptocurrency service that guides users step-by-step through the cryptocurrency tax declaration process. EY CryptoPrep supports various cryptocurrencies and exchange houses, and applies a series of tax rules to provide a detailed account of cryptocurrency capital gains or losses.

The technology and service will also be available to customers through the EY TaxChat service and EY Blockchain Analyzer.

Marna Ricker, Vice President of EY Americas Tax Services explained:

Our clients own and trade crypto assets, giving rise to the need for an innovative solution to deal with the complexity of cryptocurrency tax filing. The EY Foundation, our internal unit of companies, created EY CryptoPrep to streamline the tax calculation process.

Ernst & Young also explains in the post that cryptocurrency transactions trigger capital gains or losses tax reporting obligations. EY CryptoPrep calculates the tax liabilities of the respective tax year and allows users to present income from previous years to reconcile previous tax obligations.

Ernst & Young has previously worked with crypto and blockchain companies. In 2019, it launched the beta version of its tool for auditing smart contracts, called EY Smart Contract Analyzer, a service to analyze the security of Ethereum contracts.

Facebook ad scams use fake Forbes articles on cryptocurrencies

Key facts:

The Metamorphosis Foundation warned about fake crypto ads on Facebook.

Scammers seek to collect personal data from victims and then request payment from them.

A European civil society organization, which promotes digital rights, has issued warnings regarding new crypto-related scams. Posing as reputable websites and running fake Facebook ads, scammers are tricking victims into providing personal information and investing in non-existent cryptocurrency projects.

The North Macedonia-based Metamorphosis Foundation - a member of the European Digital Rights Network (EDRI) - reported today that fake ads for Forbes articles on cryptocurrencies have continued to appear on Facebook.

The perpetrators publish interesting articles that they supposedly direct to well-known and respected websites like Forbes. However, in reality such articles redirect victims to websites hosted in Ukraine, which are said to be run by Russian citizens.

Once users land on the fraudulent websites, misrepresented articles offer them the opportunity to invest "once in a lifetime" in a new Chinese cryptocurrency. If the victim bites the hook and provides scammers with some personal information, he becomes the target of numerous phone calls that persuade him to start paying $ 250 fees.

However, the quantity requested will increase over time through various handling techniques, offering different levels of return. Bardhyl Jashari, CEO of Metamorphosis, noted:

Misleading advertising continues to target social media users around the world. Using the personal information provided by Facebook regarding advertisements targeting the established audience in North Macedonia as a starting point, the Metamorphosis team revealed that the same advertisements are presented in almost all European countries, as well as in Middle Eastern nations. East. Scammers use culture pages, including cookies, to launch ads that target users of similar looking pages and blogs.

Bardhyl Jashari, CEO of Metamorphosis.

Facebook Ads Target Children

What is even more worrying, according to Jashari, is that these organized crime networks are also producing false advertisements targeting children and adolescents.

He noted that they use the Minecraft game, titled Minekravt, which is particularly popular with young people between the ages of nine and eleven to continue to spread fraudulent information. The countries most affected by these fraudulent activities are Russia, Austria, Belgium, Singapore, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Scammers generally provide some incentive for victims to leave their personal information. Incentives can range from discount coupons to special codes for use in the game.

Despite the imminent threat of being cheated, the Metamorphosis report notes that similar activities could condition future audiences to become more susceptible to both disinformation and scams.