FBI warned of rising cryptocurrency fraud amid coronavirus pandemic

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) urges vigilance and warns that in the near futurethe number of cryptocurrency frauds associated with the coronavirus may increase.

According to the FBI, the problem of cryptocurrency fraud is compounded by the fact that more and more traders are taking crypto assets as a payment method, the warning says.

“Fraudsters benefit from the fear and uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. They seek to steal your money and launder it through a complex cryptocurrency ecosystem, ”the agency said.

The FBI believes that criminals can impersonatefor new remote workers who collect "donations" by e-mail, security equipment suppliers or even employees of "charitable organizations" who accept cryptocurrency.

Fraud may also be carried out morein traditional ways, for example, through blackmail, but with a “twist”: a fraudster threatens to “infect you or your family with a coronavirus if the payment is not sent to a cryptocurrency wallet”.

At the same time, scammers are aimed at people of differentage categories. The FBI advises Internet users to use common sense, to verify the legitimacy of service providers, and to inform law enforcement agencies of attempts to blackmail and extortion.

This is not the first warning of regulators aboutpossible cryptocurrency frauds associated with the coronavirus pandemic. At the end of March, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) warned citizens about cryptocurrency scammers trying to attract people with coronavirus messages.

Interpol also said that cybercriminalsintensified their efforts to spread ransomware viruses in hospital information systems in order to receive large ransoms in cryptocurrency. In the middle of last month, scammers stole more than $ 2 million in cryptocurrencies - they sold medical masks and antiseptics, but did not send goods.

Darknet market Monopoly Market has banned the sale of “vaccines” and other remedies against coronavirus for cryptocurrencies on its site.

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