Malta’s Financial Authority Raises Alarm of New Scam

According to a report filed on the 31st of October, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has alerted the public of a Bitcoin scam. This new scam bears the same qualities as another scam that has been spotted in the past.

The MFSA has cautioned the public to avoid the body called ‘Bitcoin Future’ which seems to be displaying similar deceptive properties as another known as ‘Bitcoin Revolution’. The MFSA has already released 2 public warnings this year on Bitcoin Revolution. The report points out that these scam projects seem to always reappear on the internet as ads, after changing their labels to shield them from getting spotted.

The regulatory authority stated that the ads sold fake promises like “a way to build your life better” and “a unique opportunity for Maltese”, and directed the public to a precise webpage where the fake ads were being sold.

As a disclaimer, the MFSA has said that Bitcoin Future is not recognized as a legal corporation in Malta, does not have permission to deliver financial services in any way to the country, and does not conform to the transitory provision concerning Article 62 of the Virtual Financial Act of Malta.

To sum it up, the regulatory body has said that Bitcoin Future seems to be a global “get-rich-quick” scam and has advised its citizens to desist from engaging with it and that those who do would be doing so at their own risk.

The report also consisted of a link to an authorized list of financial entities that have been certified by MFSA, and procedures to identify if a service provider is a scam or not.

New Strategy and Alliance by the MFSA
In September, the MFSA broadcasted a scheme for vigorously monitoring and managing risks on cryptocurrency corporations.

The strategy, which will span from 2019 through 2021, disclosed that the regulatory body plans on upgrading their approach and will be working directly with the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, also with other global authorities.

Sometime this year, the MFSA contacted CipherTrace, a blockchain security corporation, to oversee cryptocurrency-related activities in the country and to battle fraudulent activities and terrorism financing.