Europol busts fake crypto investment training firm operating internationally

Scams and Ponzi schemes have become an everyday thing when it comes to the cryptocurrency industry. The lack of awareness among the masses regarding this new emerging asset class gives these scammers an added advantage. Tricked by the promises of huge returns, many have fallen victim to the hands of these bad actors, and the most recent scam of this sort was busted in Andorra, Europe.

According to a report from crime-fighting agency Europol, a major investment fraud scheme involving cryptocurrencies was cracked down upon by the agency in collaboration with Spain’s Civil Guard along with the Catalan police.

Europol was actively involved in the investigation and mobilised experts from both the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre (EFECC) and European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3).
During the operation, these experts were deployed in Andorra for operational support and forensic expertise on the scene.

The fraudulent scheme posed as an Andorran firm that specialized in cryptocurrency and foreign exchange investment training. The scam is also believed to have been operating at an international level.

A joined operation was initiated in January by the authorities. It was led by the Andorran Police under the judicial direction of Specialized Batllia Instruction 2. The operation resulted in the arrest of six suspected fraudsters aged between 20 to 34 years.

The suspects have allegedly duped thousands of unsuspecting victims by pretending to be a legitimate investment training company. The company was located in Andorra the company specialised in the training of investment in cryptocurrencies and other assets, and is thought to have also carried out activities related to cryptocurrency trading.

Authorities were able to seize €70,000 ($84,716) in fiat currency and cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, ethereum, XRP and OmiseGo. The scammers also had multiple bank accounts linked to the company, and police also seized eight vehicles and multiple electronic devices.

Full article on https://thedailychain.com/europol-busts-fake-crypto-investment-training-firm-operating-internationally/

#europol #scam #ponzi #investment #crypto #mindyourdata #yokdata