The Israel Police Cyber Crime Unit has terminated a crypto scam where malicious hackers used harmful software to steal millions from investors.
The company had allegedly created a “sting software” to trick investors into losing large sums of money.
Israel Crypto Scam Revealed
According to a recent report, Israeli authorities conducted a raid on the location where the alleged crypto scam occurred. It highlights that the individuals apprehended did not fit the conventional profile of offenders.
The report states,
“The raid made it clear that most of those who operated on-site were very young, had no criminal records, and were likely trying to make some easy money.”
The report alleges that high-profile individuals in Israel might have played a role in orchestrating the crypto scam. Influential crime families in Israel, such as “the Jarushis and Muslis,” allegedly have ties to the operations.
The scam reportedly targeted European investors through outbound phone calls, promising them crypto profits. Victims received login details that appeared to belong to a legitimate investment portfolio. However, this was not the case.
Software developers actually controlled the operation, manipulating profit figures to make it seem like a successful investment, when in fact, it was empty.
To learn more about crypto scams, read BeInCrypto’s guide: How To Identify a Scam Crypto Project
Victims only discovered it was a scam when they attempted to withdraw money and found nothing in their accounts. This scam affected people from Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, Germany, Spain, and Israel. The operation reportedly had many individuals involved:
“The investigation involved officials from the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority, the Israeli Tax Authority, and the Bavarian Cyber-Warfare Unit of the German police, who arrived in Israel and took part in the raids alongside their Israeli counterparts.
This comes shortly after the Israeli police uncovered a quarter-billion dollar crypto scam.
On August 23, a report surfaced alleging that crypto entrepreneur Moshe Hogeg has been hit with criminal charges. The charges arise over Hogeg allegedly using over $290 million in investor funds for his personal benefit.
The funds allegedly came from four of Hogeg’s crypto projects between 2017 and 2018. Two of the projects, Hogeg allegedly promoted ventures that didn’t even exist.
Regarding the two other projects, it is alleged that Hogeg knowingly accepted investor funds despite being aware of their imminent failure from the beginning.
