The well-known Bitcoin Profit fraud campaign is currently searching for new victims of the broker scams run by MarCo Global Projects Ltd. and BI Level World Ltd.’s Global Markets Association (www.gm-associat.com) and Status Markets (www.status-mark.com). Both businesses have Marshall Islands registrations. PayTechno (www.paytechno.com) is another payment processor that we discovered to be involved in scams. Among other places, the SmartInvestApp website (https://smartinvestapp.com/bitcoinprofit/) hosts the Bitcoin Profit campaign.
Following their registration, victims of the Bitcoin Profit campaign are sent via the unpronounceable website Trkitifucan (www.trkitifucan.info) to the payment sites of the individual broker frauds, where they risk losing their money through the payment processors that enable the scam. We at Global Markets Association have uncovered Estonian PayTechno’s role as a facilitator of scams once more.
The two websites (platforms) PayTechno (www.paytechno.com) and The Best Gateway (www.thebestgateway.com), which target high-risk online retailers and scammers, are run by PayTechno OÜ, a cryptocurrency payment processor licensed by the Estonian FIU. The company, CryptoPayTech (www.cryptopaytech.com), also runs a third platform that appears to be targeted at private persons. The beneficial proprietor of the business is Asaf Izhak Rubin, an Israeli.
What is Bitcoin?
The original decentralised cryptocurrency is called Bitcoin. Peer-to-peer nodes in the bitcoin network encrypt and publicly record all transactions in a distributed ledger known as a blockchain, decentralised from a central authority.
Mining, a computationally demanding proof-of-work system, is used to bring nodes to consensus. As of 2022, the mining of bitcoin accounted for 0.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions and required a growing amount of power.
An unidentified individual named Satoshi Nakamoto created bitcoin in 2008, basing it on the principles of the free market. When the open-source version of bitcoin was released in 2009, people started using it as money. El Salvador accepted it as legal money in 2021. These days, people use bitcoin less as a means of commerce or as a unit of account and more as a store of value. Most academics view it as an investment, and several have called it an economic bubble. Because bitcoin is anonymous, authorities have become aware of its usage by criminals, which has resulted in a number of countries banning it as of 2021.
Global Markets Association
An international trade group representing the securities and financial markets sector is called the Global Financial Markets group (GFMA). It was established in 2009 to serve as the parent organisation for three local organisations:
- The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), with headquarters in Brussels, Frankfurt, and London.
- The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), with headquarters in New York City and Washington, DC.
- And the Asian Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), with headquarters in Hong Kong.
One of the primary avenues for global financial services industry advocacy and lobbying is the GFMA. Along with peers like the Financial Services Forum, Bank Policy Institute, International Securities Lending Association, Futures Industry Association, International Capital Market Association, Institute of International Finance, and International Swaps and Derivatives Association, it frequently adopts positions on policy.[Reference required] Even though it is a trade association, its research is often acknowledged in discussions about financial services policy, even though it may not always be seen as offering a fair perspective.
The three regional organisations alternately supply the GFMA’s secretariat over two-year periods. Adam Farkas, CEO of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, was appointed CEO of the Association in March 2022.
Cryptocurrency Scams
There are several types of cryptocurrency frauds. Crypto scammers will stop at nothing to get their hands on your cryptocurrency, just as financial crooks will attempt to grab money from your bank account or charge bogus amounts on your credit card. Knowing when and how you’re being targeted as well as what to do if you think any communications pertaining to cryptocurrencies or their associated businesses are fraudulent will help you safeguard your bitcoin holdings.
- Cryptocurrency scams frequently try to obtain personal data, including security codes, or fool a victim into transferring funds to a potentially vulnerable digital wallet.
- Giveaways, hustles involving potential love interests, phishing, extortion emails, phoney firm warnings, blackmail, “rug pulls,” and potentially phoney mining programs or networks are a few examples of frauds.
- Poorly written white papers, aggressive marketing campaigns, and get-rich-quick promises are warning signs of cryptocurrency scammers.
- If you think you may have fallen victim to a scam, the best people to get in touch with are your cryptocurrency exchange and federal regulatory bodies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
- Before registering for a cryptocurrency wallet, exchange, or app, always do your homework to be sure it is reputable.
How to avoid cryptocurrency scams
To avoid falling victim to a scam, there are a few steps you may take. Do not click on the links, call the number, get in touch with them, or send them money if you see any of the warning indicators. Moreover:
- Refuse demands to share your private keys for cryptocurrencies. No one requires those keys for a valid cryptocurrency transaction; they manage your wallet access and cryptocurrency.
- Businesses that guarantee large profits should be avoided.
- Investment managers that get in touch with you and promise to increase your money quickly should be avoided.
- When “celebrities” reach out to you, be cautious. A true star won’t get in touch with you to discuss purchasing cryptocurrencies.
- Connect with potential love partners in person through online dating platforms or dating apps. Give them no money.
- Ignore emails and texts from new or well-known businesses claiming to be concerned about your account and offering to assist you “unfreeze” it, or stating that your account has been frozen.
- If you receive an email, text, or message on social media purporting to be from the government, law enforcement, or utility provider and informing you that your assets or accounts are frozen, get in touch with a regulatory body. Don’t react to the original letter using their correspondence channel. Instead, visit an agency’s official website for information on how to get in touch.
- Jobs for crypto miners or cash-to-crypto converters should be ignored.
- Examine any explicit material that a con artist claims to have about you and threatens to post if you don’t provide cryptocurrency. This is extortion. Report it.
- Never take “free” money.
Bottom Line
Many individuals have been reminded of the Wild West, when there were almost endless opportunities for personal wealth accumulation, by the frenzy surrounding cryptocurrencies. However, everyone who has studied the Wild West era knows that in their quest for riches, many speculators lost everything.
The cryptocurrency ecosystem will surely continue to attract criminals as it grows in size and complexity. Socially designed attempts to get account or security information and attempts to convince a target to transmit cryptocurrency to a hacked digital wallet are the two main categories of cryptocurrency scams. Understanding the typical methods used by con artists to obtain your information and, eventually, your money will help you recognize crypto-related scams early on and avoid falling victim to one yourself.
