The national authorities of Austria, Cyprus and the Czech Republic conducted measures to combat online fraud with the "sale of new cryptocurrency tokens". In a coordinated operation supported by Eurojust and Europol, six key suspects were arrested and six locations were searched. In total, assets worth 750 thousand euros, property worth 1.4 million euros and two cars were frozen/seized. eurojust.europa.eu.
Between December 2017 and February 2018, scammers pretended to create an online trading company that launched a new cryptocurrency. They offered 10 million tokens for sale. Investors paid them in conventional cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin or ethereum. The Austrian scammers also claimed to have developed their own software and algorithm for selling tokens in order to gain the trust of investors.
In February 2018, the attackers closed all their social media accounts and disabled the fake company's homepage. Investors lost about 6 million euros. At this stage, not all victims of fraud have been identified.
As a result, it was possible to identify the organizers and quickly execute European arrest and search warrants. Europol supported the operation of the mobile office in Cyprus. Austrian police officers were present at the search site in Cyprus.
• Source: https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/news...ed-fraud-scheme-offering-new-type-crypto-coin
Between December 2017 and February 2018, scammers pretended to create an online trading company that launched a new cryptocurrency. They offered 10 million tokens for sale. Investors paid them in conventional cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin or ethereum. The Austrian scammers also claimed to have developed their own software and algorithm for selling tokens in order to gain the trust of investors.
In February 2018, the attackers closed all their social media accounts and disabled the fake company's homepage. Investors lost about 6 million euros. At this stage, not all victims of fraud have been identified.
As a result, it was possible to identify the organizers and quickly execute European arrest and search warrants. Europol supported the operation of the mobile office in Cyprus. Austrian police officers were present at the search site in Cyprus.
• Source: https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/news...ed-fraud-scheme-offering-new-type-crypto-coin
