The ongoing scam has caused Finns hundreds of thousands of euros in losses in November–December alone. The method is similar to a security account scam, but its target has been the owners of cryptocurrencies.
The network-assisted crime investigation unit of the Internal Finland Police Department warns of a hybrid scam connected to cryptocurrencies, which already has victims in Finland as well.
Crime Commissioner Markku Laakso tells in the police bulletinthat the public authority has a case to investigate in which significant property damage has been caused. It all started with a text message, the sender of which appeared to be the well-known cryptocurrency platform Binance. However, criminals were involved.
– The message stated that an attempt was made to log into the account from abroad, and the interested party was asked to call the number given in the message. In the call, the interested party was told that an attempt was made to log into the account from abroad and that measures should be taken to protect the funds, Laakso says.
According to Laakso, the person concerned called the number. He was instructed to create a new digital wallet where the funds would be transferred safely. The method is therefore very similar to traditional security account scams.
– In reality, this digital wallet has been controlled by criminals who sought the money of the concerned owner, Laakso says.
According to the police, Finns have lost a total of hundreds of thousands of euros to Binance scammers since the beginning of November.