It’s thought thousands of people have lost in excess of a million pounds
Five men from London have been arrested as part of a investigation into a ‘devastating’ large-scale cryptocurrency fraud. Police believe thousands of victims across the UK may have been duped into ‘investing’ more than a million pounds on dodgy sites.
Detectives from the Met’s Economic Crime team took the group into custody after looking at several websites that claim to offer pre-sale investment opportunities in new cryptocurrencies. These are sold on the basis the tokens would be listed on major online exchanges and returns would double.
However, these “highly convincing” websites rarely have any intention to list the investments, and returns in cash are impossible to guarantee. Investigators say the investments had no underlying value and were essentially worthless.
The men arrested in connection, who are aged 21 to 37, are thought to be part of a “boiler room” operation, based in London, that made follow-up calls to victims to encourage further investment. Though currently on bail, they could face conspiracy to commit fraud charges, pending further enquiries.
The Metropolitan Police is now urging anyone who believes they fell for the scam to come forward. This is particularly urgent for users of DTX Exchange, Intel Markets, Cryptids, Algo Tech Trades and Unilabs Finance.
Some of these websites previously operated under different domain names, making them harder to track and increasing the risk to investors.
Detective Sergeant Stephen Bourne, from the Metropolitan Police Service, said: “We recognise the devastating impact that fraud can have on people and that’s why we’re committed to investigating crimes of this nature and supporting those affected.
“These websites are highly convincing and use professional-looking content, fake endorsements and aggressive marketing tactics to lure people in.
“Once cryptocurrency is sent, it is almost impossible to recover. If you have any doubts, please do not invest.
“Though we are still very much in the early stages of the investigation, we believe this crime is affecting victims in every corner of the world and strongly advise members of the public not to engage with or invest through the websites listed.”
Victims of fraud are encouraged to contact Action Fraud via 0300 123 2024 or the website.
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