on the crypto
Cyber crimes related to cryptocurrencies could soon make the headlines of many news broadcasts, if history continues to repeat itself for much longer. The online scam industry, in fact, is still very much alive. Especially if using Bitcoin to perform fraudulent activities will continue to increase.
A well-organized scam, but it ended badly
Sometimes the minds behind these fraudulent activities are quickly tracked down, depending on how easy it is to track their movements. Other times they enjoy the security of their hidden identity for an extended period of time, before being attacked by the police. This is the case of the five men who had launched a £ 20 million Bitcoin-related fraud in the comfort of their Lancashire hotel room for nearly two years, before being recently arrested by the authorities.
The five culprits recently made an appearance in court after being found guilty of profiting from a crack in an Australian company Casey Block Services, according to Lancashiretelegraph.
Stephen Boys, 57, is accused of money laundering. 22-year-old Jordan Robinson has been accused of holding some of the team's illegal Bitcoin profits. Hanza Moosa Kambi, 33, and Kelly Caton, 43, are accused of conspiracy to scam an Australia-based crypto trading platform. And James Austin-Beddoes, 26, who bought property from the proceeds of Bitcoin fraud, is also accused of conspiracy.
Cryptocurrency-related scams are on the rise
While security enforcement can go a long way in limiting the level of these crimes, cryptocurrency-related fraud is a practice that could go on as long as the industry itself exists. A major problem to address in tracking offenders is the diverse nature that these frauds can take. It is important to note that Bitcoin scams are different from traditional scams that use Bitcoin as a method of receiving payments from their victims.
Some scammers pose as business owners for invest, others to imitators of major fintech companies, to trick their victims into trusting them. In order to bypass third parties and bank delays, Bitcoin is then used as a channel for the transfer of money. Globally, a good portion of both scams have been recorded over the years.
The solution to Bitcoin-related fraud
Fixing existing gaps is not a job that Bitcoin as an asset can solve on its own. To think this means to think that fraud related to fiat currencies is caused by the existence of the currencies themselves.
This is a point of view that the Binance CEO insisted on when he recently spoke out against the Indian Crypto Ban. As he said, Bitcoin is neither inherently good nor bad, Bitcoin is just a medium. However, the authorities responsible for user protection are best placed to solve the problem.
