Latest news about Bitcoin and all cryptocurrencies. Your daily crypto news habit.
Belgiumās financial watchdog has added 28 new sites to its crypto-related fraud blacklist, noting that investors continue to fall victim to crypto scams.
Belgiumās Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has added 28 new sites to its crypto-related fraud blacklist, as it reiterates its warnings to consumers in a fresh alert posted today, September 4.
The FSMA has said that despite its prior risk alerts, the agency continues to receive complaints from consumers swindled by fraudsters capitalizing on the cryptocurrency āhype.ā The warning says that scammers are canny enough to lure victims in with easy-seeming profits, but that at this point, āthe only thing they actually do [ā¦] is take the customersā money and disappear. It is as simple as that.ā
The agency notes that the updated list is not comprehensive, and has been assembled largely as the result of victimsā reports. The warning appeals to the public to come forth with further information about any other crypto-related entities operating unlawfully in Belgium. It also invites readers to consult its prior warning from February 2018, which includes a testimony from one victim of a fraudulent crypto platform that the agency describes as āparticularly detailed and telling.ā
The FSMAās efforts to educate investors about the risks associated with cryptocurrency fraud have been preempted by other national regulators and financial security experts.
In May, a government-led study in China outlined what it considered to be the key features of fraudulent digital currency profiles.
And in the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) created a website for a fake Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) with a similar educational goal. The mock HoweyCoins.com lured investors with a ātoo good to be true investment opportunityā ā using the very āred flagsā the organization claimed to be present in the majority of fraudulent ICOs ā and redirected those who attempted to purchase the ersatz tokens to an educationally-oriented page on the SECās own site.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Bitcoin Insider. Every investment and trading move involves risk - this is especially true for cryptocurrencies given their volatility. We strongly advise our readers to conduct their own research when making a decision.