back to article Euro-cops shut down crypto scam that bilked millions from unwitting punters

European cops arrested 15 suspected scammers and shut down a multi-country network of call centers selling fake cryptocurrency that law enforcement said stole upwards of hundreds of million euros from victims. The scammers tricked their victims into investing large sums of money into fake cryptocurrency schemes according to …

  1. Winkypop Silver badge
    Trollface

    What makes things difficult

    Is knowing the difference between crypto fakes and crypto.

    Both offer much the same product.

    1. simonlb Silver badge
      Holmes

      Re: What makes things difficult

      You don't need to know the difference, you just avoid all crypto currencies. End of.

    2. lglethal Silver badge
      Go

      Re: What makes things difficult

      Whats the difference between crypto and crypto fakes? Not a damn thing...

      1. Jedit Silver badge
        Boffin

        "Whats the difference between crypto and crypto fakes? Not a damn thing..."

        There is actually a difference. When a crypto bro sells magic beans, the buyer at least receives them and can potentially dodge being a victim by selling them to someone else. Only the final bag holder is truly scammed. Fake crypto scammers promise you magic beans, but the buyer is always the one being scammed.

        Ironically, this means fake sellers generate fewer scams than real ones.

        1. Great Bu

          Re: "Whats the difference between crypto and crypto fakes? Not a damn thing..."

          Beans you say ? Magic ones ? Tell me more...

      2. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

        Re: What makes things difficult

        The fake ones are more eco friendly as no energy was ever wasted to create them.

  2. sarusa Silver badge
    Devil

    A tree in a forest

    Okay so any bit helps, but it kind of feels like they entered a zoo of rabid dogs, snagged one that was particularly foamy, and called it case closed. 'Roight then! That's all, sorted innit?'

    It sounds like the only difference between this and other crypto schemes is that they didn't actually bother to make their own worthless ponzi coin. Which would have been easy enough (it's trivial to roll your own using existing tools), so I'm surprised they didn't bother. Then they'd have been perfectly legit as far as crypto goes.

  3. KittenHuffer Silver badge

    If it sounds too good to be true ....

    .... it almost certainly is!

    Unfortunately there is one born every minute, so I don't think these schemes/scams/crypto will disappear soon.

    -----------> Bring back Paris! Otherwise there is no 'sucker' icon!

  4. Flak
    Megaphone

    Stop calling this an 'investment'

    Repeat after me:

    Crypto is NOT an investment!

    Crypto is NOT an investment!

    Crypto is NOT an investment!

    Crypto is NOT an investment!

    ...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Stop calling this an 'investment'

      Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman have done quite well out of it, though.

      Oh, you mean crypto currency, sorry.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Stop calling this an 'investment'

      Crypto is an investment like any other investment. In that there is inherent risk and bad shit can happen.

      A lot of people claim not to "gamble" with investments and yet they will probably have a savngs account or pension that accrues it's interest from someone else gambling on your behalf.

      Quite a lot of pension pots have a certain percentage of the portfolio in crypto these days...there's a good chance that if you hold a pension, you're already investing in crypto to some extent whether you like it or not.

      What sucks about this though is that the 50%+ annual returns from crypto don't get handed back to you, you get your 7-8% that they guarantee and the fund gets to keep the rest because they know you won't ever check to see how the portfolio is diversified or complain.

  5. ChoHag Silver badge

    What crime?

    Which part of "Hey! Idiots! Come and give me your money!" is illegal though?

    1. Jellied Eel Silver badge

      Re: What crime?

      Which part of "Hey! Idiots! Come and give me your money!" is illegal though?

      The fraud part? On the one hand, we have SBF awaiting a fraud trial for scamming sophisticated investors out of billions. On the other, we have organised crime groups like these running boiler rooms to scam unsophisticated investors out of billions. They're also now awaiting prosecution for fraud.

      In the middle, we have police and other fraud reporting lines listening to thousands of desperate people calling in to report they've been scammed out of money they couldn't really afford to lose, with virtually no possibility they'll ever see that money again, or be compensated. That will have resulted in probably hundreds of suicides, relationship breakdowns, or just going from dreams to nightmares. And the media's been a part of the pumping operation reporting on the easy money to be made from crypto.

      So sure, there's an element of P.T.Barnum to it, but there's also been a lot of very real harm done to people by slick scams like these. I've had a neighbour asking me to sit in on a presentation they were given by one promising to invest their retirement savings in crypto. I pointed out the risks, and sat with them while they reported it to one of the fraud action lines. It was sad to see their reaction.

      1. Version 1.0 Silver badge

        Re: What crime?

        I've quit all of this, it's just become crapto currency these days, originally it was a great idea, just a little technical entertainment when you understood how it was working. But these days it's just become a slick little criminal entertainment, delivered to everyone's phone and email address.

      2. ChoHag Silver badge

        Re: What crime?

        > desperate people calling in to report they've been scammed out of money they couldn't really afford to lose

        Who gives this money to people that just ask for it though? If you really can't afford to lose it, don't invest your money in Mike from the pub. Put it in the bank, speak to a financial adviser, speak to your friends, hedge your bets.

        Maybe even find out what the thing you're investing in is and how it works, but maybe that's asking too much.

        1. Jellied Eel Silver badge

          Re: What crime?

          Who gives this money to people that just ask for it though? If you really can't afford to lose it, don't invest your money in Mike from the pub. Put it in the bank, speak to a financial adviser, speak to your friends, hedge your bets.

          The problem with a lot of these scams are people are conned into thinking they're investing in 'banks' like FTX, and they're listening to or watching slick presentations from 'financial advisers'. Often they'll be hooked with a bit of spam using social engineering and spearfishing, but they may also be introduced by 'friends' who've also invested. Same thing happens with lots of other frauds like ponzi and pyramid schemes.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: What crime?

        Post a single link to a reputable news source that has ever claimed crypto is easy money.

        I dare you.

    2. Jimmy2Cows Silver badge

      Re: What crime?

      That some nice victim blaming. They might well be idiots, but pretending you'll invest your suckers' money when you actually keep it really is a crime.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: What crime?

        So, like most of those disruptive companies VCs pour suckers' money into them?

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What crime?

      Which part of "Hey! Idiots! Come and give me your money!" is illegal though?

      None of that part is. It's what you continue that statement with that can make it illegal, by, for instance, promising something you have no intention to ever deliver on.

      1. ChoHag Silver badge

        Re: What crime?

        Thank you for being the only person to respond to the question. Why does it have to be the AC?

        I'm sure that must have happened but I didn't get any sense from the article of what the fraud was besides "please invest in my yet-another-crypto-token". Do we know what it was?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: What crime?

          Why does it have to be the AC?

          Ah, we airconditioners have all the answers :)

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: What crime?

            But sometimes we piss all over servers and racks because the nice man in the building with a spanner doesn't come to say hello often enough.

        2. Jellied Eel Silver badge

          Re: What crime?

          I'm sure that must have happened but I didn't get any sense from the article of what the fraud was besides "please invest in my yet-another-crypto-token". Do we know what it was?

          To an extent, you don't really need to. Or if you're a YT user, there's usually plenty of examples to chose from in comments on videos. There'll be an OT post about how someone just wants to share this wonderful opportunity they've found, followed by a dozen or so replies from other people saying how great it is. If you follow the link, you'll find a pitch site promising you the moon on a stick. They'll often have quotes, news reports, graphs and graphics setting the hook.

          Then they're usually ponzi schemes, so you only need to invest a small amount to get started. Your account will grow from new money being collected, then there'll be pressure to invest more because you're getting such a great return, or you should be buying the dip etc. Then the mark discovers they can't cash out, and their money is gone. So basically FTX in micro.

  6. JacobZ
    Headmaster

    Tautological

    Surely "crypto scam" is tautological. The "scam" part is entirely superfluous.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    selling fake cryptocurrency?

    Is there any other kind?

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