Beware of a ‘National Cryptocurrency’ Scam, Says Singaporean Regulator

With the cryptocurrency market becoming more popular with time, every other uninformed investor is looking to cryptocurrency, to make some money. With the rate at which the market, and the subsequent scams are growing, chances are, you know someone or have heard of someone who has fallen prey to a cryptocurrency scam.

While various national and international authorities are trying their level best to introduce more regulations and spread greater awareness about these scams, we read about tragedy befalling a gullible investor, almost every other day in the newspapers.

The new such scam is doing its rounds in Singapore, where some people are trying to sell of a ‘national cryptocurrency’ to unsuspecting people, looking to become overnight millionaires. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has recently released an announcement, stating that the nation is not going to be launching its own cryptocurrency.

This announcement was necessary because many people were reporting that they had been approached by an anonymous source, asking them if they wanted to buy Singapore’s ‘national cryptocurrency’.

A Singaporean regulator said that

“The MAS warns members of the public not to be misled by fraudulent websites that solicit investments in cryptocurrencies using fabricated information attributed to the Singapore Government.”

The practice of scamming using the government’s name had become rampant across the web, thereby compelling the MAS to make an official statement.

No stone had been left unturned in the pursuit of convincing the general public, that such a currency was being launched. The scammers uploaded fake articles, claiming to be from respected news outlets, which stated that Singapore was soon launching a national cryptocurrency and that a specific company has been designated the job to sell them.

This company was obviously owned and operated by the scammers. The people who bought into this fake trap, were asked to hand over their cash to them and disclose sensitive bank information.

Let’s hope the general public is more careful and use their discretion judiciously in making any such decisions to invest in a new venture.