in-cyprus 20 February 2020 -Edited by Josephine Koumettou
The Office for Combating Cybercrime (OCC) of the Cyprus Police has announced that multiple complaints have been submitted by citizens regarding an online fraud involving cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin.
The fraud is taking place on social media where individuals pretending to be investors urge the public to click on a link to create an e-wallet and are then prompted to use their credit or debit card to buy cryptocurrency, promising high returns in a brief time period.
Victims are also requested to provide access to PCs and bank accounts as a prerequisite to create an e-wallet and purchase cryptocurrency.
After obtaining access to PCs and bank accounts, the fraudsters transfer the cryptocurrency to their own accounts and erase their tracks.
In some of the reported cases, targets were also contacted by telephone.
Police warn that such cases are very difficult to solve as perpetrators use fabricated electronic data, while it is extremely doubtful that e-wallets or cryptocurrencies can be traced.
Therefore, the public is urged to be very careful with social media ads of this nature, avoid trusting such information online without prior thorough research and to not reveal passwords to PCs and bank accounts.
