New Delhi: Bitcoin swindlers are now targeting iPhone and Android users through popular dating apps, such as Bumble and Tinder, charging hundreds of thousands of dollars in fake “profit tax” to unlock their crypto accounts, cyber-security researchers warned on Monday.
The international cryptocurrency trading scam called CryptoRom, unearthed by cyber-security firm Sophos, has become well-organised and targets victims all over the world.
In one case, a victim was charged $625,000 to regain access to the $1 million he had invested in a fake crypto-trading scheme, recommended by someone he had met on an online dating platform.
The dating “friend” then claimed to have invested some of their own money to bring their joint stake up to $4 million.
According to the scammers, their investment made a profit of $3.13 million, and they were liable for a 20 per cent profit tax, or $625,000, if they wanted to access their account to withdraw funds.
In fact, neither the co-investment nor the profits were real, and the online “friend” was part of the scam, according to Sophos report.
When victims tried to withdraw their investments from one of the fake trading schemes, their accounts were frozen and were charged up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in fake “profit tax” to regain access.
“The CryptoRom scam is romance-centred financial fraud that relies heavily on social engineering at almost every stage,” said Jagadeesh Chandraiah, senior threat researcher at…
