Scammers are resorting to the "Crypto Trading" scheme, the Department of Economic Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia warned. This scheme, used in foreign call centers, is disguised as cryptocurrency trading training, but is actually fraud.
First, the attacker assesses the level of financial literacy of the potential victim and establishes a trusting relationship with them.
The scammer creates the image of an expert with a fake biography. In it, he claims to have studied at a prestigious university, such as Moscow State University, worked at a large exchange, managed a hedge fund, and is a successful trader. The scammer actively promotes the idea of "mutual benefit" and partnership, claiming that "we are in the same boat." He particularly emphasizes the absence of prepayment, stating that the reward will depend only on the profit. At the same time, the scammer carefully studies the victim's knowledge and experience in the field of cryptocurrencies in order to adapt his deception scheme.
Then psychological manipulation begins.
The scammer uses imitation of scarcity, referring to his "tight schedule." Delayed responses to the victim's messages are used intentionally to enhance the perception of his own authority and busyness.
Pseudo-support plays an important role. This is an imitation of friendliness and common interests. For example, the offer to "laugh together" is designed to reduce the victim's vigilance and criticality. The success of this stage is largely based on the victim's key vulnerability — the desire to receive quick and passive income. Often, scammers use tempting but unrealistic promises.
Most often, scammers talk about fictitious arbitrage transactions between different crypto exchanges, which are allegedly carried out using "neural network bots." They also claim to manipulate exchange rates through exchange points. To do this, an artificial shortage of the coin is created on a specific exchanger, which leads to an increase in its price. Then the coin is sold at an inflated price.
Mentioning real services, such as BestChange, is just an attempt to give the scam a semblance of legitimacy, although the described scheme itself has no economic sense and is not viable.
To make it easier to understand complex and unreliable information, scammers often distort the meaning, comparing, for example, the process to a game where clients are presented as "houses" that generate income.
The victim is forced to register and verify on specific crypto exchanges (often named Binance, Bybit, Huobi) under the pretext of necessary "training." Then follows the requirement to make an initial capital (from $100 and above), accompanied by false promises of instant and guaranteed profit in the range of $2 to $60 per transaction, allegedly taking less than 15 minutes.
An important stage of the scheme is the "deposit acceleration." To gain the victim's trust and encourage them to increase their investments, the scammer first shows a small "profit" (for example, $3). Then he persistently offers to replenish the account, promising a more significant income. In the most aggressive versions of the scheme, the victim is even persuaded to take out a loan ("$300–400 to start"), claiming that the investments will quickly pay off.
Scammers seize control of the victim's account to guide them through the transaction. Under the pretext of a profitable transaction, they transfer money to their wallets.
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