Bank of Russia identified 140 pyramid schemes, some offering investments in cryptocurrencies

The Bank of Russia identified more than a thousand illegally operating organisations on the financial market over the first nine months of 2020. Some of them showed signs of pyramid schemes and offered investments in cryptocurrencies and tokens, writes Izvestia, citing the Bank of Russia.

\n

The regulator said the main trend of the year is the shift of scammers online. Of the 140 pyramid schemes, 64 operated under the guise of internet projects.

\n

The strongest growth in detected illicit activity among the Bank of Russia’s findings came from ‘fake forex operators’. Compared with the same period in 2019, the rise was about 40%.

\n

Fraudsters often use so-called quiz sites built on tests or surveys, said Valery Lyakh, director of the Bank of Russia’s Department for Countering Illicit Activity:

\n

\”People often willingly participate in online interactive tests, and scammers, in the course of conversation, determine the e-mail address and phone number of a potential client. They identify the target audience and then personally contact the person, drawing them into an illegal scheme using social engineering techniques.\”

\n

Last year the Bank of Russia identified 237 organisations with signs of pyramid schemes.

\n

Subscribe to ForkLog’s news on Telegram: ForkLog Feed — the full news feed, ForkLog — the most important news and polls.