Luxembourg authorities warn about exchange fraud

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Luxembourg’s financial authorities have warned its residents against yet another crypto-related scam by an entity named Cryptominingoptionsignal. The company claims on its website to be “licensed in Luxembourg.”

According to the announcement made by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), the claims by Cryptominingoptionsignal on its website are fraudulent, aimed at deceiving investors.

The CSSF explained that the company is unknown to them and it has no authority to provide any investment services or other financial services in or from Luxembourg. The announcement read:

The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) warns the public of the activities of an entity named Cryptominingoptionsignal […] The CSSF informs the public that Cryptominingoptionsignal is unknown to it and that the entity has not been granted any authorization to provide investment services or other financial services in or from Luxembourg.

Fraud cases in Luxembourg have been on the rise. Last month, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reported yet another scam project. According to the report, an entity, who impersonated the FCA was circulating a letter titled “Guaranteed chance to earn” to potential investors through the email. The email is reported to have contained a promotion for a cryptocurrency investment. Through the email, the entity had instructed readers to follow a link to an external site to make their investment in the project. Upon the discovery, the FCA announced it was not behind the said projected and warned investors against participation against such. The authority clarified as follows:

The correspondence is likely to be linked to organized fraud, and we strongly advise you not to respond to the criminals in any way. Look for signs that the email, letter or phone call may not be from us, such as it listing a mobile or overseas contact phone number, an email address from a Hotmail or Gmail account, or a foreign PO Box number.

Despite the growing fraud rate, authorities in the region have made significant milestones in the blockchain space. Earlier this year in February, Luxembourg passed Bill 7363 into law allowing financial services to use blockchain tools in confidence in their day to day activities. The law gives the same legal protection to a transaction conducted on the blockchain, just like those made through other means.