As China paves the way for the adoption of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), scammers are also actively emerging. Police in a Chinese province are now warning of a “sophisticated” CBDC fraud.
The bogus platform is to be launched in March, say fraudsters
A scam called Central Bank’s International Wallet claims to be a Yuan digital wallet platform, according to the Weifang Police Department’s Cybercrime Department in Shandong Province. The bogus platform appears to have trapped nearly 500 users at press time.
The scammers announce that the platform offers members the opportunity to access a “secret CBDC advertising fund” valued at $ 186 million.
It should be noted that Weifang police cited an earlier report first published on the subject by local media company Sina. Scammers claim that the platform’s users could make profits of around $ 24,800.
Although the wallet is not “live”, scam operators say the platform will be launched in March. However, the Weifang police department for cybercrime expressed concerns because fraudsters had already collected personal information such as bank details and real names from users via a smartphone app.
The scammers further claim that the funds raised will encourage the use of the digital yuan worldwide and nationwide. In addition, the scam operators promised users that they would receive 2% of the bonuses per deposit.
The Chinese central bank continues to warn of fake investment opportunities for digital yuan
People’s Bank of China is actively warning people about the rise of fake organizations claiming to be digital yuan promoters. However, the central bank says that such systems only turn out to be Ponzi schemes hidden behind “multilevel marketing strategies”.
Recently, the Beijing city government handed out digital yuan worth a total of 10 million yuan (US $ 1.55 million) to 50,000 people in the city who signed up for the lottery raffle using cell phone apps. Users could spend the CBDC during the Chinese New Year celebrations.
What do you think of the warning from the Chinese authorities? Let us know in the comments below.
Photo credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer of liability: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or an invitation to make an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or approval of products, services or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author are directly or indirectly responsible for any damage or loss caused or allegedly caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
