Bitcoin News and Finance
Russian Crypto Scammers Go Offline, Open Offices, Central Bank Worried About Trend Skip to main content

Russian Crypto Scammers Go Offline, Open Offices, Central Bank Worried About Trend

Russian Crypto Scammers Go Offline, Open Offices, Central Bank Worried About Trend

An increasing number of financial and crypto pyramids targeting Russian investors have been opening physical offices in the country. The Central Bank of Russia has recently expressed concern over the trend which is seen as an indication that the fraudsters expect growing demand.

Russian Crypto Scams Launch Offices to Lure More Investors In-person, Bank of Russia Says

Financial pyramids and illegal forex dealers in Russia, many of which now specialize in offering crypto investment and settlement opportunities, are moving offline, the daily Izvestia reported quoting the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR).

For the first time in recent years, the organizers of such scams are opening offices where they try to convince potential victims to invest in virtual money or suggest services to bypass foreign sanctions and government restrictions. In-person contact is always more effective for that purpose, experts say.

They also warn that sharing information with dubious platforms often leads to loss of funds, either fiat or crypto. The trend of going offline indicates that scammers are preparing for a larger demand as Russians’ access to global financial assets has become extremely problematic, the report notes.

Sanctions imposed by the West over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and foreign currency restrictions introduced in response by Russian authorities have boosted interest in crypto assets. Many Russians have been buying bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies and stablecoins to protect their funds from government measures or transfer them abroad.

Crypto Fraud on the Rise Due to Sanctions and Restrictions

According to data compiled by the Bank of Russia, financial pyramids have become much more active this year. In the first half of 2022, the regulator identified 954 such entities, compared to just 146 during the same period of last year. That’s over a six-fold increase.

The number of those offering investments in real or fake cryptocurrencies has continued to grow, too. More than half of the registered fraudulent schemes (56%, or 537 entities) raised funds in various digital assets or advertised investments in such.

Russia’s monetary authority believes that fraudsters are taking advantage of the radically changed operations of traditional financial institutions as a result of the sanctions which are affecting international settlements and investments in foreign assets.

The CBR recently eased some of its restrictions on access to foreign fiat for Russian citizens, allowing banks to increase the supply of U.S. dollar and euro cash to the public. It’s unclear yet how the change will influence interest in crypto which, according to a recent survey, remains relatively high in Russia.

Do you expect the number of crypto pyramid schemes to continue to grow in Russia? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and...
Post a Comment
Read more

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r...
Post a Comment
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory