Scammers are resorting to the "Crypto Trading" scheme, the ECC 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 attacker 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 on 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 especially 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 response to the victim's messages is 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 vigilance and criticality of the victim. The success of this stage is largely based on the key vulnerability of the victim — 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 rates through exchange offices. To do this, an artificial shortage of coins 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 with a game where customers 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 comes the requirement to make an initial capital (from $100 and above), accompanied by false promises of instant and guaranteed profit in the range from $2 to $60 per transaction, allegedly taking less than 15 minutes.
An important stage of the scheme is the "deposit acceleration." In order to gain the victim's trust and encourage them to increase investments, the scammer first shows a small "profit" (for example, 3 dollars). 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 investment will quickly pay off.
Scammers seize control of the victim's account in order to guide her through the transaction. Under the pretext of a profitable transaction, they transfer money to their wallets.
Read materials on the topic:
The Ministry of Internal Affairs told how to protect money on the card from scammers
Scammers send trap files to the families of military personnel
"Uncomplicated, but effective psychological trick": how scammers act on behalf of "Vodokanal"\
