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Polymarket Faces WSJ Report on $10M Stolen-Card Fraud Attempt

United States

Marco Bello/Reuters

Marco Bello/Reuters

What Happened

Fraudsters used stolen debit cards to open thousands of U.S. Polymarket accounts and attempted to move at least $10 million; Checkout.com rejected over 80% of deposits. Monitors traced $3.1M drained, and Polymarket said it would reimburse customers, limited debit cards and hired Riskified; fraud rates normalized by May.

What Happened

Fraudsters used stolen debit cards to open thousands of U.S. Polymarket accounts and attempted to move at least $10 million; Checkout.com rejected over 80% of deposits. Monitors traced $3.1M drained, and Polymarket said it would reimburse customers, limited debit cards and hired Riskified; fraud rates normalized by May.

Where Sources Agree

  • arrows_inputFebruary Fraud Attempt: Initial reports confirm fraudsters attempted $10 million in theft using stolen debit cards on Polymarket in February, with payment processor Checkout.com rejecting over 80% of deposits as fraudulent, according to the Wall Street Journal and payment processor data.
  • arrows_inputDeceptive Marketing Allegations: All outlets cite an investigation finding that Polymarket paid creators to film fake winning trades, where an analysis of 118 videos showed approximately 10% depicted fraudulent winnings, according to the Wall Street Journal.
  • arrows_inputInternal Prioritization of Growth: Most coverage confirms that Polymarket management prioritized rapid growth over compliance, with the CEO allegedly instructing staff to "just keep growing and pay a fine" if regulators discovered issues, according to current and former employees.

Where Sources Disagree

  • arrows_outputDisputed Fraud Figures: The Wall Street Journal reports that fraudsters attempted at least $10 million in illicit withdrawals during the February incident. However, blockchain investigators estimated actual losses at roughly $3.1 million.
  • arrows_outputInsider Trading Profit Estimates: Reports cite differing figures regarding profits from alleged insider trading on Polymarket. While a CFTC complaint alleges one defendant earned more than $404,000, federal prosecutors separately allege a Google employee made over $1.2 million using confidential business information.

Timeline

September 20, 2026

September report, probe and losses: On September 20, 2026 the Journal reported the February stolen-card episode prompted a CFTC inquiry and that employees were instructed to preserve documents; the Journal said fraudsters tried to move at least $10 million, while blockchain investigators later estimated roughly $3.1 million in losses across 11 wallets.

June 26, 2026

June WSJ findings and lawsuit: The Wall Street Journal published a June 2026 investigation alleging Polymarket paid creators to post staged winning videos and lured users to its offshore platform, prompting Polymarket to audit promotional content and a June 26 lawsuit by Vaca Daffan; the company also said a compromised third‑party vendor injected malicious code into its frontend for some users.

May 22, 2026

May controls and oversight request: By May 2026 Polymarket reported fraud rates had moved back toward industry norms after limiting debit cards per account and hiring antifraud vendor Riskified, while on May 22 the House Oversight Committee requested records on identity verification and suspicious-activity referrals.

Summary by Ground AI

Sources

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A varied selection of sources chosen by Ground to reflect the diversity of this story’s coverage.

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