Crypto and Forex Scams Cost Belgian Investors $12 Million
According to the Belgian financial watchdog, fraudsters stole approximately $12 million from the country’s investors using fraud advertisements. Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) warned on October 5 after witnessing a 10-million euros. The watchdog further said that the loss is approximately $11.8 million in writing between May 2019 and September 2020.
All the activities were conducted through fraud platforms, including crypto dealers. FSMA reports that the platforms used fake ads to scam the victims through social media featuring celebrities and directed them to provide information to bad actors.
The financial watchdog of Belgium said that these fake platforms also utilize various aggressive methods to persuade customers to invest large sums. They can also persuade the customers to head over the computer’s controls remotely to perform some transactions.
Belgian investors lost $12M to crypto and forex scams last year | | Bitcoin (BTC) | https://t.co/1GQWt6w4Nz
— Bitcointe 💎 (@bitcointe) October 12, 2020
According to a report from Cointelegraph in May, the economic activities in Belgium accounted for a $3.2 million loss due to the cryptocurrency scams in 2019. A $2.5 million loss to crypto fraud was also reported by the Federal Public Service of the country in 2018.
However, the higher authorities in Belgium have taken necessary preventive measures for combating the issue. More than 140 crypto-related fraud sites were blacklisted by FSMA in February. The FPS has estimated that Belgian investors usually lose $152 million every year. The numbers do not include unreported incidents.
