New York’s Police Department (NYPD) is alerting the public about phone scammers posing as Social Security Administration officials and requesting payment in Bitcoin, prepaid gift cards, and bank wire transfers.

NYPD noted the scammers have already thieved millions of dollars by exploiting the trusted reputation of government agencies.

Such scams are on the rise, NYPD said. So far this year, the NYPD has received more than 200 complaints with losses totalling more than $2 million. In 2018, the NYPD received only three similar complaints.

“Sophisticated phone scams use the trust victims have in their own governmental and law enforcement agencies against them. Victims of this type of phone scam are not limited to senior citizens – these criminals are targeting every strata of society and every demographic is vulnerable,” said chief of community affairs Nilda Hofmann.

“The NYPD is committed to working closely with our partners in the financial industries and will not rest until we bring those responsible for these crimes accountable. If you even suspect a call to be fraudulent, don’t take a chance, just hang up,” Hofmann added.

Scammers posing as the Social Security Administration contact victims claiming their social security number has been used to open numerous accounts, or is involved in some sort of drug trafficking or money laundering operation. The victims are then told to transfer various sums of money to help resolve the situation.

A person posing as a “police officer” or “law enforcement official” will intimidate or threaten victims to get them to comply.

As we know from previous reports , scammers use “spoofing” to manipulate caller IDs to display the number of the Social Security Administration, or other official agencies. In some cases the scammer even uses the names of real officers.

It must be noted that this is a widespread problem, affecting people all over the US. Just last month, we reported that phone scammers posing as a police officer were targeting victims in California, asking that they hand over all the money in their bank account in Bitcoin.

The only way to stop these criminals, who are swindling large amounts of cash from unsuspecting victims and in turn adding to Bitcoin‘s branding problem, is to ignore them and to never, ever, pay up.

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Bulgarian cryptocurrency scam lures UK investors with fake FCA accreditation

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is warning consumers to be extra vigilant as cryptocurrency scammers are falsely claiming to have FCA accreditation.

In a statement from yesterday, the FCA warned Bulgaria-based blockchain startup Next Coin Market is misleading UK-based investors by linking to a fake website that suggests the company has been fully authorized by the FCA, despite having received no such accreditation.

“We believe Next Coin Market is an illegal organization based in Bulgaria, claiming to be an FCA authorized firm offering cryptocurrencies to UK consumers,” the statement reads.

“We have become aware they are sending consumers a link to a fake website, which gives the impression they are authorized by the FCA, when they are not,” the UK regulator continued. “This is criminal activity.”

Naturally, anyone that has been approached by Next Coin Market should flag it with the FCA. If you were unfortunate enough to fall for the scam, the FCA recommends contacting a fraud helpline like Action Fraud.

It obviously doesn’t take much time or effort to place a fake FCA logo and claim to be accredited. Claiming false affiliation is one of the oldest tricks in the book.

In the case of the FCA, you can always double-check whether the firm in question is regulated by cross-referencing the FCA‘s Financial Services Register found here . If the scam company isn’t listed, it’s best to steer clear.

This instance isn’t an isolated case either, it’s been happening all over the world. Belgian authorities have been keeping a track of cryptocurrency scam websites, many of which claim fake affiliation to recognized industry authorities and regulators.

In September 2018, Belgian watchdogs had documented 28 new scam websites to add to its list of 70 sites targeting would-be investors. By the end of October this list had grown to 99 websites, and smashed past 100 by December .

Even the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had some fun, all in the name of education, when it launched a fake initial coin offering (ICO) to warn investors about the dangers of dodgy cryptocurrencies.

It seems this type of scam is a growing favorite among Bulgarian fraudsters. Last November, $3 million worth of illicitly obtained cryptocurrency was seized from a Bulgarian cartel after an investigation that began in June 2018.