Five men have been arrested as part of a police investigation into cryptocurrency fraud, which is believed to have cost thousands of victims over a million pounds.
Detectives are investigating a “sophisticated fraud technique” which involves several websites that claim to offer investment in new cryptocurrencies that could double in value, the Met Police said.
The new cryptocurrencies are sold with promised returns in cash when they are listed on major exchange websites.
But police officers have found the tokens listed on the “highly convincing” websites have no value and that there is no intention to actually list the cryptocurrencies on exchange sites.
A “boiler room” operation, based in London, is suspected of making follow-up calls to victims to encourage further investment, the Met Police added.
Losses are believed to have run into millions of pounds and affected thousands of victims.
Five men, aged between 21 and 37, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud in London on October 1.
They were taken to custody for questioning and have since been bailed pending further police enquiries.
The Met has urged anyone considering investing in cryptocurrency to carry out thorough research and check the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warning list before parting with any cryptocurrency.
The list of sites involved in the Met investigation are:
- DTX Exchange: dtxexchange.com
- Intel Markets: intelmarkets.io
- Cryptids: cryptidsgame.io
- Algo Tech Trades: algotech.trade
- Unilabs Finance: unilabs.finance
Scotland Yard warned some of the websites have previously had different domain names making them trickier to track.
Met Police Detective Sergeant Stephen Bourne said: “We recognise the devastating impact that fraud can have on people and that’s why we’re committed to investigating crimes of this nature and supporting those affected.
“These websites are highly convincing and use professional-looking content, fake endorsements and aggressive marketing tactics to lure people in.
“Once cryptocurrency is sent, it is almost impossible to recover. If you have any doubts, please do not invest.
“Though we are still very much in the early stages of the investigation, we believe this crime is affecting victims in every corner of the world and strongly advise members of the public not to engage with or invest through the websites listed.”
