Forty people have been arrested by Turkish authorities for abusing Twitch. They used the streamer donation system to launder nearly $ 10 million from stolen bank cards. Among those arrested are streamers who were receiving their commissions. Four suspected people have not yet been arrested.
In November 2021, we reported in our columns a sordid story centered on Twitch. According to information reported by several Turkish streamers from October to November, crooks are using the streaming platform’s donation system to launder money. Practically 10 million dollars could thus be cleared in two years of activity. And several thousand streamers have participated in it.
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How is it going ? Crooks steal credit cards. They log into Twitch and look for streamers who want to make easy money. Negotiations usually take place on Discord. Once a deal is struck, the crooks buy Bits on Twitch and send them to their accomplice. Remember that Bits, a monetization system integrated into the streaming platform, are normally used to “reward” streamers for their work.
40 people suspected of laundering $ 10 million on Twitch
These Bits must be purchased with cash and they can be converted by a streamer who will return the cash, less their previously negotiated commission. Hence the importance of having an accomplice to convert the Bits back into dollars. Thanks to this scheme, streamers, followed by only a few dozen people, were able to pocket up to 1800 dollars per day. Which is obviously impossible under normal conditions. More 2400 streamers would thus benefit from the system.
Local authorities carried out a large-scale operation in January 2022 to stop a forty people involved in this money laundering operation, information reported by the Turkish press agency Demirören News Agency. The local authorities specify that some people arrested are minors. They also confirm that four other people are still wanted. No streamer seems to have been arrested.
Source: Daily Sabah
