The CySEC-regulated Crowd Tech Ltd d/b/a Trade360 has acquired a reputation for its aggressive approach to acquiring clients. In 2020 and 2021, FinTelegram exposed that Trade360 deployed fraudulent crypto campaigns such as Bitcoin Revolution to chase new clients. Last week CySEC informed that it had reached a settlement with Crowd Tech Ltd for possible violations of the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017. Crowd Tech has agreed to pay the amount of €230.000.
Currently, we notice that many fraudulent campaigns are promoted through the BigTopChannel (www.bigtopchannel.org). Those who register on one of the many campaigns running there are subsequently redirected directly to the payment page of a broker scam. The website is not new. In November 2021, the Cybercrime Division of the Swiss police in Zurich warned against BitTopChannel In addition, numerous warnings against the website can be found on the Internet. The operators are unknown.
Today, the fraudulent crypto campaign Bitcoin Revolution is advertised in Google via The Wise Investment. Victims who register there because of the promise of quick wealth via Bitcoin then end up on the payment page of the broker scam StakingTrades (https://stakingtrades.com). They can lose their money via the licensed Estonian crypto exchange oobit - the website names STG CONSULT PLC in the UK as the operator. We have not found this company. Stay far away, protect your money and data.
We are often asked where the difference is between illegally operating brokers and scam brokers. Indeed, a valid question, and the line is undoubtedly blurred. The simple answer is that all scams are illegal, but not all illegally acting brokers are necessarily scams. Brokers or investment firms act illegally if they do not have the required permission for their offering in the respective regulatory regimes. In the case of scammers, the intent to defraud their clients is the defining p
The CNMV has issued warnings against more than 20 operators of financial websites. Among them is CIIZURN, a CFD broker licensed in Canada as a money services business. Among the warnings are about a dozen crypto schemes or crypto trading providers. A warning was also issued against the fraudulent crypto scheme BITQS which, like Bitcoin Prime or Bitcoin Revolution, catches victims for illegally operating brokers with the promise of quick wealth. Below is the list of the warnings:
Our FinTelegram team has been focusing on fraudulent marketing campaigns on Google and social media to chase victims for broker scams for several weeks. Google UK & Ireland has tightened the conditions for placing financial ads since August 2021, but these conditions do not apply in the EU. Google is cashing in with scams. We have established that fake publishers in Russia are advertising fraudulent crypto campaigns on Google. The search giant doesn't care about regulatory warnings. We call this the Russian Google Game!
The Peninsula Clarion claims to be the only comprehensive source of news and information for Alaska's central Kenai Peninsula. Sound Publishing Inc. in Washington State, operates Peninsula Clarion, which today promotes the notorious crypto fraud campaign Bitcoin Revolution. Well, to be honest, Google Search, too, sells its online ad spaces to the scammers promoting this fraud campaign. Anyone typing Bitcoin Revolution into the Google search engine gets four Google Ads as well as a prompt to read Peninsula Clarion.
We started last week with the Russian Google Game series detailing how operators of fraudulent crypto marketing campaigns run ads on Google search engine pages via fake publishers in Russia. While Google UK & Ireland tightened the rules for placing financial ads in August 2021, making it harder for scammers and their marketing agencies to get in, Google continues to allow scammers to chase consumers in the EU despite regulatory warnings. Here's another update on the Russian Google Game.
FinTelegram has focused on fighting fraudulent marketing campaigns in the crypto space in recent weeks that are used to trap victims for illegally operating brokers. Google UK & Ireland has already shut down the promotion of such campaigns by tightening the condition of financial ads. Last week, the German BaFin issued a Cease and Desist Order against Bitcoin Revolution. Today, the Spanish CNMV issued a warning against Bitcoin Evolution. It's going in the right direction, but it's not enough.
Over the past few weeks, we have been investigating the advertising activities of scammers on Google. Specifically, we looked at how fraudulent marketing campaigns around Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are advertised. Google plays an essential role by either selling ads to scammers or presenting fake review pages on the first page of search results. Many Google ads we analyzed were placed by Russian websites like the Woodhursta. Here is the report.
FinTelegram has repeatedly warned against the fraudulent crypto trading bots like Bitcoin Prime, Bitcoin Evolution, or Bitcoin Revolution and the marketing campaigns associated with them. The truth is that these crypto trading bots don't even exist. They are fake constructions and the only real thing about them are the brands developed by the scammers and their marketing agencies with the aim of chasing clients for illegal brokers. Today, BaFin has issued a Cease-and-Desist Order against Bitcoin Revolution today. Finally!
The high summer, heat, and severe weather do not stop scammers from attacking consumers with ever new scams. They are increasingly using fake media, fake review platforms, and fraudulent marketing campaigns like Bitcoin Revolution. Today, a fake "Zeit Online" article on the Financemagazine Media website praises Bitcoin Revolution. Anyone who registers there is automatically registered with the broker scam OculusTrade (www.oculustrade.com).