Several European police departments have exposed a cryptocurrency ring and seized over $1 million in cryptocurrencies, as well as €50,000 in cash.
Recently, the favorite trick of scammers to lure their victims has been to offer lucrative investment opportunities through cryptocurrencies. Social networks have thus facilitated not only the task of companies, but also that of fraud, allowing it to spread across multiple nations.
According to a press release, Eurojust and Europol, the agencies of the European Union, have teamed up to dismantle the network of cryptocurrency scammers operating from Bulgaria, Cyprus and Serbia.
15 people arrested for crypto fraud in Europe
The various European agencies have thus far arrested 15 people for having managed a crypto scam ring that has stolen more than 10 million euros from citizens of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Australia and Canada.
The scammers operated through four call centers. European agencies have identified more than 250 workplaces and raided 18 different sites. During these raids, authorities seized three cars, two luxury apartments, $1 million in cryptocurrencies and over €50,000 in cash.
The statement said that “the network attracted potential investors online and often contacted victims by telephone to entice them to make small investments, conversing with them in English and German. After generating initial earnings, victims then invested more money, which they then lost.”
Fraudsters rely on artificial intelligence
Over the last few months, 🤖artificial intelligence has taken the internet by storm. Unfortunately, important use cases always carry a higher risk of scammers exploiting this technology as well.
However, it is possible to identify a scam when receiving direct calls or messages from an unknown person. However, what about when you get a video message from well-known people?
Indeed, scammers use artificial intelligence to create manipulated videos of famous people, so-called Deepfakes. In November, 💥 when FTX went bankrupt, a video of Sam Bankman-Fried sending Internet users to a fake website with the promise of gifts was for example a big hit.
The community must raise awareness so as not to fall into the trap of these cryptocurrencies. Thereby, it is essential to refrain from clicking on links received in social media messages sent by strangers. Also, when a deepfake video is out there, users should always check before acting.
In order to fight crypto scams, crime-fighting departments and agencies need to be fully equipped with blockchain and other necessary technologies. In this context, Britain’s National Crime Agency has announced the creation of a special unit to deal with cryptocurrency-related crimes.
Moral of the story: deepfake or not, never follow Sam Bankman-Fried’s advice.
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